{"entity":{"id":"multiplex-immunofluorescence","kind":"technology","name":"Multiplex immunofluorescence","aka":[],"tldr":"Staining one tumour slide for several proteins in different colours, then using software to count immune and cancer cells and measure how close they are.","summary":"Multiplex immunofluorescence extends standard immunohistochemistry to six to eight markers per slide using tyramide signal amplification and multispectral imaging (Akoya Phenoptics), or to dozens with cyclic staining (CODEX/PhenoCycler). Combined with image analysis it quantifies immune-cell composition and spatial arrangement, which large meta-analyses have found to predict response to checkpoint inhibitors better than PD-L1 staining alone.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunofluorescence","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunofluorescence"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["diagnostics"],"technologies":["digital-pathology-ai"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Sequential antibody staining with fluorescent tyramide deposition, antibody stripping between rounds, and spectral unmixing to separate channels.","strengths":["Uses standard pathology sections","Captures cell-to-cell proximity","Better predictor of immunotherapy response than single-marker IHC in pooled studies"],"limitations":["Panel design and validation are laborious","Inter-laboratory standardisation incomplete","Not yet a routine clinical test"]},"route":"/technologies/multiplex-immunofluorescence/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"diagnostics","kind":"section","name":"Diagnostics & Biomarkers","route":"/fronts/diagnostics/"}],"technology":[{"id":"digital-pathology-ai","kind":"technology","name":"Digital pathology & AI","route":"/technologies/digital-pathology-ai/"}]}}