Materials and methods for assessment of colorectal adenoma

A kit comprising:

• (a) a set of probes that enables prognosis of colorectal adenoma in a patient, wherein the set of probes comprises a locus-specific probe for EGFR, a locus-specific probe for DCC, CEP18 (chromosome enumeration probe for chromosome 18), a locus-specific probe for 13q14, and a locus-specific probe for MYC and
• (b) instructions for prognosticating colorectal adenoma in a patient, wherein the instructions comprise determining in a sample of colorectal adenoma obtained from the patient the presence or absence of chromosomal abnormalities,
• wherein no chromosomal abnormalities indicates a low risk of recurrence of colorectal adenoma and/or a low risk of progression of colorectal adenoma to colorectal adenocarcinoma,
• wherein an increase in copy number of EGFR indicates an increased risk of recurrence of colorectal adenoma and/or an increased risk of progression of colorectal adenoma to colorectal adenocarcinoma,
• wherein a decrease in copy number of DCC relative to CEP18 indicates an increased risk of recurrence of colorectal adenoma and/or an increased risk of progression of colorectal adenoma to colorectal adenocarcinoma, and
• wherein an increase in copy number of EGFR in further combination with a decrease in copy number of DCC relative to CEP18, an increase in copy number of 13q14, and an increase in copy number of MYC indicates a high risk of recurrence of colorectal adenoma and/or a high risk of progression of colorectal adenoma to colorectal adenocarcinoma.

A method of isolating epithelial cells from a sample of an adenoma, which method comprises:

• (a) rinsing a fresh sample or a thawed, freshly frozen sample of an adenoma in Hank's buffer at room temperature,
• (b) soaking the rinsed sample in pre-warmed Hank's buffer containing 20 mM DTT and 5 mM EDTA at 37° C. for around five minutes,
• (c) transferring the rinsed and soaked sample to Hank's buffer containing 20 mM DTT (dithiothreitol), 5 mM CaCl2, and 10% DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide), and mixing for about 5 seconds to about 10 seconds,
• (d) pelleting cells by centrifugation at about 1000×g for about 10 minutes,
• (e) discarding supernatant from (d) and re-suspending the pelleted cells in residual supernatant, and
• (f) placing resuspended cells from (e) in a solution, which contains from about 30 wt. % to about 60 wt. % methanol, from about 40 wt. % to about 70 wt. % water, a buffer, and a preservative and which is kept at room temperature overnight.