Is there a wax block that can be commissioned to customize the tumor tissue chip, at least in how many cases?

Customization can be commissioned. The typical process is as follows: you provide the wax blocks and their locations, or provide the corresponding HE slides with the target areas marked. The supplier performs HE evaluation, punches the samples, arranges them into a recipient wax block, and then sections it. There is no unified standard for the minimum number of cases. A common minimum is 30 or 60 cases. Fewer than this can be negotiated, but the design fee and per-spot cost will increase. It is advisable to clarify whether the quotation is based on the number of spots or the number of slides, and what the requirements are for the minimum number of replicate spots.

The customization cycle is typically 2-5 weeks, depending on the number of cases, replicate spots, number of sections, and whether quality control is performed. Residual wax blocks can generally be returned, but punching causes loss, and small wax blocks may fragment after punching. The contract should ideally specify the return method, compensation for missing samples, section thickness and number, and whether residual sections are to be recovered. It is recommended to retain a small amount of traceable sample from each provided wax block to facilitate subsequent verification of the original diagnosis and molecular characteristics.

The HE assessment and marking area is a must, and it is not recommended to drill directly based on the location of the wax block, which is prone to necrosis, fibrosis, or insufficient cancer nests. Your pathology department can cut the HE stain first, circle 2-3 representative areas, and the supplier will puncture the hole according to the marker or digital scan. If evaluated by the supplier's pathologist, a labeled HE digital slice is required for your confirmation to prevent rework in the later stage due to the sampling area not meeting the expected rework.

Upon arrival, first cut one HE or IHC pre-experimental section to check the spot array integrity rate, tumor cell percentage, and whether there are missing spots; unqualified spots can be supplemented or rearranged within the same batch. If repeat customization is needed later, it is recommended that the supplier export the sampling coordinates and donor wax block numbers, so that homologous cases are sampled from the same area as much as possible to reduce batch differences. However, for cross-batch arrays, it is still recommended to retain overlapping samples for bridging.