- Letter to the Editor
- Open access
- Published:
Is it time for a guideline on the use of immunohistochemistry in forensic pathology?
Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences volume 14, Article number: 27 (2024)
In the field of forensic trauma pathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and specialized staining techniques are crucial to estimate the age of the wound and to identify complications stemming from the trauma. In addition, they are essential to detect unique cases, including those of asphyxia and severe head trauma (Chen et al. 2021).
The use of IHC is also promising for tackling fundamental questions in forensic medicine, such as those related to the age-dating of skin injuries, surpassing the limitations of older techniques based on histochemical techniques (Tomassini et al. 2022; Tomassini et al. 2024).
Despite its promise, the rate of IHC staining undergoes significant variations over time after death, due to postmortem involutional phenomena affecting tissues and altering their antigen-antibody affinity. This has been demonstrated by studies conducted on populations consisting of medico-legal autopsies (Lesnikova et al. 2018).
This is indeed critical, as the practical application of IHC is documented in the literature and proposed in a variety of very complex and sensitive procedural contexts. For example, in homicide cases, where a positive immunohistochemistry result can provide substantial evidence to establish trial truth (Tong et al 2017).
Hence, the use of IHC in forensic pathology is an extremely sensitive issue, as the literature in this field has advocated the application of these techniques in a vast variety of cases related to both natural and violent deaths.
Often, these recommendations are based on studies conducted on relatively small cadaveric populations and not always through adequate standardization of the study population. This is surprising considering that, in courts of law, forensic pathologist consultants frequently invoke the negativity or positivity of a particular IHC staining; this raises the question—assuming the character of evidence before a court -: is that technique truly scientifically validated? Are there clear indications from guidelines and/or protocols regarding the use of one technique over another, or under what conditions the use of either technique should be excluded?
At this juncture, there is a compelling need for the issuance of clear guidance indicating when these techniques may be employed and under what conditions. Specifically addressing the time since death within which the technique is valid, its state of preservation, and the susceptibility of the IHC technique to post-mortem modifications. This is necessary to ensure the proper utilization of these techniques and to provide a fruitful incentive for their study and further exploration in various forensic-medical issues that remain largely unresolved.
Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.
Abbreviations
- IHC:
-
Immunohistochemistry
References
Chen XS, Chu J, Yang LJ, Wang T, Tao LY (2021) Application of immunohistochemistry and special staining technique in forensic traumatic pathology identification. Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi 37(5):666–72. https://doi.org/10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.400817
Lesnikova I, Schreckenbach MN, Kristensen MP, Papanikolaou LL, Hamilton-Dutoit S (2018) Usability of immunohistochemistry in forensic samples with varying decomposition. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 39(3):185–91. https://doi.org/10.1097/PAF.0000000000000408
Tomassini L, Manta AM, Naso I, Adelini V, Paolini D, Petrasso PEY et al (2022) Rust stains’ response to environmental stresses: an experimental study on porcine skin. J Forensic Leg Med 91:102402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2022.102402
Tomassini L, Lancia M, Scendoni R, Manta AM, Fruttini D, Terribile E et al (2024) Dating skin lesions of forensic interest by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques: a scoping literature review. Diagnostics 14(2):168. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14020168
Tong F, Wu R, Huang W, Yang Y, Zhang L, Zhang B et al (2017) Forensic aspects of homicides by insulin overdose. Forensic Sci Int 278:9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.06.015
Acknowledgements
Not applicable.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
M.B. and M.L. contributed to the conceptualization of the work. M.L. and M.B. were involved in the original draft preparation. M.L. performed the review and editing of the manuscript. M.B. provided supervision. All authors have thoroughly reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
All authors declare no financial or non-financial competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Lancia, M., Bacci, M. Is it time for a guideline on the use of immunohistochemistry in forensic pathology?. Egypt J Forensic Sci 14, 27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-024-00401-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-024-00401-5