Tissue-sectioning automation can be a resourceful tool in processing anatomical pathology specimens. The advantages of an automated system compared with traditional manual sectioning are the invariable thickness, uniform orientation and fewer tissue-sectioning artefacts. This short report presents the design of an automated tissue-sectioning device and compares the sectioned specimens with normal manual tissue sectioning performed by an experienced histology technician. The automated system was easy to use, safe and the sectioned material showed acceptable quality with well-preserved morphology and tissue antigenicity. It is expected that the turnaround time will be improved in the near future.

Forkhead-box protein A1 (FOXA1) is a transcription factor that is thought to be controlled by steroid hormone activity. Preliminary evidence has shown expression of FOXA1 to be important in urothelial differentiation in embryonic stem cells. The purpose of this study is to assess the expression pattern of FOXA1 in urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis and determine if there is any correlation with grade or tumor proliferation. In addition, comparison with normal urothelium will be made to assess any lack/gain of expression with malignancy. We identified 65 cases of urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis in our database, 25 with corresponding lymph node metastases. Immunostaining with FOXA1 and Ki-67 was performed. Two pathologists then reviewed each case and scored FOXA1 and Ki-67 scoring on nuclear staining intensity (0-3+) and extent of staining (%). Immunoreactivity to FOXA1 was seen in 59 (91%) of 65 cases. In positive cases, a high intensity-staining pattern in the majority of tumor cells was seen with average intensity and percentage of cells stained of 2.35+ (moderate to intense staining) and 74%, respectively. The average Ki-67 proliferation index was 16%; 4 cases demonstrated negative results. No significant correlation was seen between Ki-67 and FOXA1 intensity or extent of staining (correlation coefficients of 0.06 and -0.04, respectively) No significant difference was seen in FOXA1 immunoreactivity in nodal metastases or between high-grade or low-grade cases. In addition, similar intensity of staining was seen in normal urothelium adjacent to tumor, when present. These findings indicate that FOXA1 is a sensitive marker of urothelial differentiation. Use of the marker may be useful in distinguishing a urothelial origin in metastatic tumors with unknown primary sites. Its expression does not appear to be a useful indicator of malignancy or tumor behavior.