Immunohistochemical diagnosis of central nervous system tumours on smear preparations.

The successful application of immunostaining on smear preparations from 34 tumours of the central nervous system using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique and the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique with commercially available antibodies is described. When combined with conventional smear preparations, the technique contributed to a rapid and accurate diagnosis in 79% of cases and is advocated to be a useful adjunct in neurosurgical diagnosis.