Transcription profiling of human breast cancer samples kept at room temperature for different lengths of time before freezing

In order to gain awareness of the gene expression artifacts linked to improper tissue handling also for this particular type of neoplasia, we have investigated gene expression profiles in a set of primary breast tumors, grossly subdivided into 4 aliquots and kept at room temperature for 0, 2, 6 and 24 hours after resection and before snap-freezing in liquid nitrogen.