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October 2017

‘Split’ decisions in CNS tumor update

October 2017—Classifying central nervous system tumors has recently become both more complex and easier. Surgical pathologists now have guidance that helps them work through the whys, hows, and what-ifs of using molecular studies when making diagnoses. The 2016 WHO classification for CNS tumors, which has been described as a conceptual and practical advance over the previous incarnation, from 2007, should also help them move closer to precision medicine.

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Revived hopes, fresh challenges with liquid biopsy

October 2017—Until recently, new treatments for stage 4 lung cancer have generally required weighing toxicity against hopes that patients’ average length of survival might be extended by a month or two. But “our expectations are increasing as therapies have improved,” says Geoff Oxnard, MD, thoracic oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Patients and doctors are increasingly expecting targeted therapies with dramatic effect and few side effects.”

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PD-L1 guideline panels hustle to keep pace with drug advances

October 2017—The expert and advisory panels for the CAP/IASLC/AMP guideline on molecular testing for lung cancer biomarkers started updating the guideline in 2014, and an important but fairly routine revision process may have seemed to lie ahead. Something like sedately stepping onto a moving sidewalk. The key question at that point was quotidian: Have new data emerged to warrant changing the original recommendations?

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How to spot the savings from a diagnostic team

October 2017—Few pathologists and laboratory professionals would argue with the potential clinical benefit of a diagnostic management team, a group that meets often and provides timely patient-specific reports that synthesize all test results. But getting C-suite executives on board may mean uncovering whether such a team can save the hospital money.

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Recommendations for investigating liver chemistry abnormalities are unworkable

October 2017—A new guideline on the evaluation of abnormal liver chemistries was published in the January 2017 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology (AJG).1 The guideline, developed by the American College of Gastroenterology’s practice parameters committee, is based on three resources, the first of which is a review of published research. The other two resources are notably similar and largely based in expert opinion.

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DIY or Survey? Identifying interfering substances

October 2017—The interfering substance: Whether it’s in-laws on your doorstep or lipemia in your specimen, it has to be addressed. Ask Michelle K. Zimmerman, MD. These days, Dr. Zimmerman uses the CAP Interfering Substance Survey to detect the presence of hemolysis, lipemia, and icterus in clinical chemistry samples at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she is an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. But before her laboratory started using the Survey, how did it handle those interferences?

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AMP case report: Primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma with an unusual molecular profile of the EGFR gene at initial presentation, October 2017

October 2017—CAP TODAY and the Association for Molecular Pathology have teamed up to bring molecular case reports to CAP TODAY readers. AMP members write the reports using clinical cases from their own practices that show molecular testing’s important role in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The following report comes from the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield. If you would like to submit a case report, please send an email to the AMP at amp@amp.org. For more information about the AMP and all previously published case reports, visit www.amp.org.

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Sigma analysis, role and limitations: development of a QC program for the Beckman Coulter AU5812

October 2017—The challenge for all clinical laboratories is to produce the highest quality in vitro diagnostic results in the most efficient manner. Fortunately, high quality and high efficiency are not mutually exclusive, and the direct correlation between the two is well documented.1,2 As the quality of processes increases, so does process efficiency, which ultimately drives down costs.

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Clinical Pathology Abstracts, 10/17

October 2017—Association between age at natural menopause and risk of type 2 diabetes: Menopause in women marks the loss of ovarian follicle development and the timing of the final menstrual period. The timing of menopause differs significantly among women and is seen as a marker of aging and cardiovascular health. Studies have shown a link between early onset of menopause and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality, whereas menopause at age 50 to 54 years is linked to a decrease in CVD risk and mortality.

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Anatomic Pathology Abstracts, 10/17

October 2017—Lymph node yield is an independent predictor of survival in rectal cancer: Lymph node yield is used as a marker of adequate oncological resection. The American Joint Committee on Cancer recommends at least 12 nodes to confirm node-negative disease for rectal cancer. However, it is not always possible to achieve a lymph node yield of 12, particularly in patients who have undergone neoadjuvant treatment.

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Molecular Pathology Abstracts, 10/17

Editors: Donna E. Hansel, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Anatomic Pathology, and professor, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego; John A. Thorson, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology, director of the Clinical Genomics Laboratory, Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine, UCSD; Sarah S. Murray, PhD, associate professor, Department of Pathology, and director of genomic technologies, Center for Advanced Laboratory ...

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Q&A column, 10/17

October 2017—Our doctors request strep group A culture on throat specimens that are negative for rapid strep group A. On culture workup, if we have beta-hemolytic strep, we perform latex grouping only for group A strep; we report negative for GAS if latex is negative and positive if latex is positive. I think we should confirm all GAS with pyrrolidonyl arylamidase (PYR), and group and report other non-GAS. What do you think?

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Newsbytes, 10/17

October 2017—Clinical analytics: from benefits attained to software available: While LIS and laboratory billing software vendors tout the power of their business analytics tools to boost the laboratory’s bottom line, a newer application of information technology—clinical analytics—is elevating the role of the laboratory in personalized medicine.

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Put It on the Board, 10/17

October 2017—Houston labs learn: know the back roads: The disaster plan of the laboratories at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston held up well in Hurricane Harvey, thanks to lessons learned in years past, but the labs have something new to add: Know in advance the back-road access routes to the various hospitals.

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Letters, 10/17

CAP TODAY provides valuable information that is important to guide the practice for many pathologists. However, an article published in the August 2017 issue, “Laboratory director duties clarified in 2017 checklist” by Anne Ford, has raised serious concerns among many pathologists, particularly members of the Chinese American Pathologists Association (CAPA).

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