{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T11:05:58Z","timestamp":1779966358167,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779926400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779926400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007052","name":"Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Verona","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007052","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Forensic Sci Med Pathol"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>In forensic autopsies, tissue samples are routinely collected, fixed in formalin, and embedded in paraffin (FFPE) to ensure long-term preservation for histological examination. In some cases, these specimens may represent the only remaining biological material available for postmortem genetic analysis. However, the use of FFPE samples in forensic genetics poses significant challenges, as formalin fixation compromises DNA integrity and reduces the likelihood of obtaining complete genetic profiles. Moreover, relatively few experimental studies in the scientific literature have addressed the integration of forensic pathology requirements with those of forensic genetics. To address this gap, we designed a pilot study to systematically evaluate the impact of formalin fixation time on genetic analysis outcomes. FFPE liver and lung samples from 11 individuals undergoing forensic autopsy were examined. Fixation times ranged from 3 to 33 days, and three sections from each FFPE block were used for DNA extraction. Femoral blood samples collected during autopsy were analyzed in parallel as reference samples. DNA extraction was performed using the QIA amp DNA Mini Kit. Genomic DNA was amplified using the Power Plex Fusion 6 C System, and analysis was performed on the GeoStudio Genetic Analyzer for HID. Preliminary results indicate that complete genetic profiles can be obtained after fixation for up to 11 days, with a progressive decrease in correctly typed alleles as fixation time increases. Overall, the study experimentally demonstrates a correlation between DNA degradation, as reflected in the quality of genetic profiles, and the duration of formalin fixation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T10:30:35Z","timestamp":1779964235000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How to combine the exigencies of histopathological and forensic-genetic investigation: a preliminary study on the use of medicolegal FFPE samples for DNA analysis"],"prefix":"10.1007","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7442-8139","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Soldati","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5800-5078","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Rigosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pamela","family":"Rodegher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3186-4955","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicola","family":"Pigaiani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9568-4585","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federica","family":"Bortolotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1211-8551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Ausania","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"1277_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1373\/clinchem.2014.223040","volume":"61","author":"H Do","year":"2015","unstructured":"Do H, Dobrovic A. Sequence artifacts in DNA from formalin-fixed tissues: Causes and strategies for minimization. Clin Chem. 2015;61(1):64\u201371. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1373\/clinchem.2014.223040.","journal-title":"Clin Chem"},{"key":"1277_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/j.forsciint.2017.09.020","volume":"280","author":"KM Reid","year":"2017","unstructured":"Reid KM, Maistry S, Ramesar R, Heathfield LJ. A review of the optimization of the use of formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue for molecular analysis in a forensic post-mortem setting. Forensic Sci Int. 2017;280:181\u20137. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.forsciint.2017.09.020.","journal-title":"Forensic Sci Int"},{"issue":"6","key":"1277_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1961","DOI":"10.1016\/S0002-9440(10)64472-0","volume":"161","author":"M Srinivasan","year":"2002","unstructured":"Srinivasan M, Sedmak D, Jewell S. Effect of fixatives and tissue processing on the content and integrity of nucleic acids. Am J Pathol. 2002;161(6):1961\u201371. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0002-9440(10)64472-0.","journal-title":"Am J Pathol"},{"issue":"6","key":"1277_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e537","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0000537","volume":"2","author":"MT Gilbert","year":"2007","unstructured":"Gilbert MT, Haselkorn T, Bunce M, Sanchez JJ, Lucas SB, Jewell LD, Van Marck E, Worobey M. The isolation of nucleic acids from fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues-which methods are useful when? PLoS ONE. 2007;2(6):e537. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0000537.","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"issue":"11","key":"1277_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1520","DOI":"10.5858\/arpa.2013-0691-RA","volume":"138","author":"BP Bass","year":"2014","unstructured":"Bass BP, Engel KB, Greytak SR, Moore HM. A review of preanalytical factors affecting molecular, protein, and morphological analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue: how well do you know your FFPE specimen? Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2014;138(11):1520\u201330. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5858\/arpa.2013-0691-RA.","journal-title":"Arch Pathol Lab Med"},{"issue":"8","key":"1277_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6323","DOI":"10.1007\/s11033-023-08491-5","volume":"50","author":"K Vito\u0161evi\u0107","year":"2023","unstructured":"Vito\u0161evi\u0107 K, Todorovi\u0107 D, Slovi\u0107 \u017d, Varljen T, Radakovi\u0107 I, Radojevi\u0107 D, \u010canovi\u0107 V, Todorovi\u0107 M. The quality of DNA isolated from autopsy formalin-fixed and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues: study of 1662 samples. Mol Biol Rep. 2023;50(8):6323\u201336. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11033-023-08491-5.","journal-title":"Mol Biol Rep"},{"issue":"4","key":"1277_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1439","DOI":"10.1007\/s00414-025-03480-8","volume":"139","author":"C Previder\u00e8","year":"2025","unstructured":"Previder\u00e8 C, Bonin S, Cuttaia C, Argentiero G, Livieri T, Cecchetto G, Oliva A, Fattorini P. Are pre-analytical factors fully considered in forensic FFPE molecular analyses? A systematic review reveals the need for standardised procedures. Int J Legal Med. 2025;139(4):1439\u201352. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03480-8.","journal-title":"Int J Legal Med"},{"issue":"1","key":"1277_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1007\/s12024-020-00327-z","volume":"17","author":"K Vito\u0161evi\u0107","year":"2021","unstructured":"Vito\u0161evi\u0107 K, Todorovi\u0107 M, Slovi\u0107 \u017d, Varljen T, Mati\u0107 S, Todorovi\u0107 D. 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Forensic Sci Int. 2002;125(2\u20133):205\u201311. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/s0379-0738(01)00641-7.","journal-title":"Forensic Sci Int"}],"container-title":["Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T10:30:39Z","timestamp":1779964239000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"references-count":24,"alternative-id":["1277"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12024-026-01277-8","relation":{},"ISSN":["1556-2891"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1556-2891","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"assertion":[{"value":"13 March 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"16 May 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"28 May 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"This article does not contain any studies with animals. Informed consent is unnecessary in this work because only judicial autopsy cases were considered. The report does not contain personal data. In any case, all data are covered by the Italian Law \u2013 Data Protection Authority (Official Gazette no. 72 of March 26, 2012) for scientific research purposes as well as GDPR nr 679\/2016 and 9\/2016, and law addition number 424\/19 July 2018. In all cases, investigation and autopsy were claimed by local attorneys, and our involvement was requested to clarify the cause and manner of death.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethical standards"}},{"value":"The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning the research, authorship, and\/or publication of this article.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Conflict of interest"}}]}}