Brachyury

Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue block or cell block, or 1 unstained charged slide for each test requested plus 3-4 additional unstained slides cut at 4 microns. Adequate space on each slide for control tissue is required.

Brachyury is a nuclear transcription factor encoded by T, a member of the T-box gene family. It is crucial in the posterior mesoderm formation and in notochord development during embryogenesis. Thought to be an indicator of notochordal differentiation, brachyury is found to be a sensitive and specific maker for chordoma, and is extremely helpful in distinguishing chordoma from other histologic mimickers, including chondrosarcoma, metastatic mucinous / signet ring cell carcinoma, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and etc.