Early adopters share first-hand experience with Cryoimmunostaining™ technology

Halle (Saale), November 2025 – After breaking new ground last year by featuring Cryoimmunostaining™ in the official scientific programme for the first time, the 2025 Seminar on Clinical Cytology in Pulmonology in Halle (Saale), Germany once again placed next-generation immunostaining firmly on the conference agenda.

Co-hosted by the German Respiratory Society (DGP) and the German Society of Cytopathology (DGZ), the meeting revisited early adopter experiences first shared in late 2024 and provided an update on the development of standardized consensus panels. This initiative, launched at the 2024 seminar, directly inspired the development of X-ZELL’s Cryophore™ multiplex antibody panel range.

“Cytology is often the initial method of evaluating effusions. It is easy to perform, readily available and inexpensive.”
Prof. Dr. Fernando Schmitt

Precision cytoanalysis in focus: The 2025 keynote lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr. Fernando Schmitt, Professor of Pathology and Oncology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Porto, who highlighted the “power of precision cytoanalysis” in minimally invasive effusion samples.

“Cytology is often the initial method of evaluating effusions,” Prof. Schmitt noted. “It is easy to perform, readily available and inexpensive” – adding that cytology should not be regarded as inferior to tissue-based diagnostics.

At the same time, he pointed out that cytological testing methods continue to suffer from limited standardization, widely varying sample preparation techniques, and differences in diagnostic experience between laboratories.

These challenges, he argued, leave significant room for innovation to unlock the full potential of cytology. While molecular analysis represents one of the most prominent ancillary techniques, its applicability is often limited by low cellularity, with only 15–20% of cytology samples suitable for testing – leaving a notable gap for alternative approaches capable of handling scarce material.

“Multiplex-Immunoflurescence may be superior in the detection of malignant cells […] compared to cytoblock-based single-antigen immunohistochemistry.”
Dr. Achim Battmann

New data from a pioneering routine laboratory: Dr. Achim Battmann, who pioneered the clinical use of Cryoimmunostaining™ in Europe, followed up on his landmark 2024 presentation by sharing updated real-world data from routine implementation at MVZ Main-Taunus, based at Northwest Hospital Frankfurt, Germany.

With more than 500 Cryoimmunostaining™ cases signed out, Dr. Battmann emphasized that the key advantage of the technology lies in its ability to deliver comprehensive analyses from minimal sample material. “In addition,” he said, “we see significant savings in diagnostic time, hands-on time and overall costs, as there is no need to prepare a cytoblock and the risk of losing valuable cells during preparation is minimized.”

Previewing results from a new comparative study, he noted: “According to the data presented, multiplex-Immunoflurescence may be superior in the detection of malignant cells in pleural and peritoneal effusions compared to cytoblock-based, single-antigen immunohistochemistry.”

“The initial results from testing the first version of the consensus panels are very promising.”
Dr. Simona Miceska

Routine experience update from Slovenia: Providing an international perspective, Prof. Dr. Veronika Kloboves-Prevodnik and Dr. Simona Miceska from the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (IOL) shared updates from a long-term routine evaluation of Cryoimmunostaining™ that began in 2024.

Their team conducted a focused compatibility study comparing the X-ZELL workflow with standard IOL protocols, confirming that Cryoimmunostaining™ is fully compatible with routine cytospin preparations. The adaptation increased throughput and reduced turnaround time by approximately 20 minutes, bringing total processing time down to around three hours.

The Slovenian group also previewed initial results from the first prototype consensus panels, an idea originally proposed at the previous year’s seminar. Early testing showed staining results equivalent to conventional immunohistochemistry on a one-to-one basis.

“The initial results from testing the first version of the consensus panels are very promising,” said Dr. Miceska, adding that further fine-tuning is underway. “We are now looking forward to evaluating the final production version from December.”

Early adopter feedback from Halle (Saale): Further real-world feedback was provided by Dr. Antje Hölsken, Lead Pathologist at Martha-Maria Hospital Halle (Saale), who reported interim results from the first 70 routine samples processed using Cryoimmunostaining™ as part of the X-ZELL Tech Trial programme.

Comparing matched real-life cases stained with X-ZELL and conventional immunohistochemistry, Dr. Hölsken highlighted the dramatic time advantage of the multiplex workflow, with a total run time of 2 hours and 58 minutes, compared to up to 24 hours for cytoblock-based IHC. Importantly, morphological and cytochemical results showed 100% agreement with the gold standard, positioning Cryoimmunostaining™ as a strong candidate for routine adoption following trial completion.

Following the initial evaluation phase, she also announced that the system has now been transferred to the partner St. Elisabeth and St. Barbara Hospital in Halle for expanded routine testing under the leadership of Dr. Ralf Heine, Head of Pneumology & Ventilation Medicine, Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine.

The site could soon become one of the first dedicated multiplex cytology hubs in eastern Germany, a development that has already attracted local media attention for its role in advancing cancer diagnostics.

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Media Contact
Sebastian Grote
sebastian.g@x-zell.com

About X-ZELL
X-ZELL is an award-winning medical technology company pioneering the field of next-generation cytology. The company’s mission is to transform cancer diagnostics by fusing novel laboratory technology with digital imaging to detect and visualise individual atypical cells in minimally invasive body liquids and digitize them for instant on-screen analysis. Founded by Y Combinator finalist, Dr Sebastian C.P. Bhakdi, X-ZELL was ranked second-most innovative healthcare start-up in the world in 2020 and has since won the coveted MedTech Innovator APAC competition as well as the Abstract Award at the 2021 European Conference of Cytology.

About Cryoimmunostaining™
Cryoimmunostaining™ is a novel immunostaining method utilising proprietary X-ZELL technology to simultaneously apply up to eight diagnostic antibodies on a single microscope slide to maximise diagnostic yield and sample utilisation. The technology platform required to perform Cryoimmunostaining™ is referred to as the Next-Generation Cytology (NGC) platform and includes the relevant laboratory hardware, all relevant reagents and consumables as well as the X-ZELL Hybrid Microscope to enable digital cytopathology in a clinical routine environment.