Q1: Bone cancer: non-decalcified bone samples required.

1. For bone cancer, DO NOT submit decalcified tissue. Tumor-containing soft tissue is preferred; if bone tissue is used, it must be non-decalcified. If no non-decalcified bone tissue block is available, please trim and examine additional non-decalcified (“wet”) tissue.
2. We are actively working with pathology labs to explore ways for preserving non-decalcified bone tissue or using milder decalcifying agents, though this may require protocol adjustments and will take time.
3. We also encourage clinicians to freeze tumor tissue at the time of amputation whenever possible, as it can be valuable for both genomic analysis and certain immunotherapies.
4. In addition, when submitting histopath for potential bone cancer, we suggest including the following in your submission note.

“ATTENTION: Please save a portion of tumor tissue prior to decalcification for possible future genomic analysis.”