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ESMO Open Feb 2021This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.
BACKGROUND
This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.
RESULTS
Questionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples.
CONCLUSIONS
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe.
Topics: Biological Specimen Banks; COVID-19; Clinical Laboratory Services; Containment of Biohazards; Disease Outbreaks; Europe; Forecasting; Humans; Pandemics; Pathology, Clinical; Pathology, Molecular; SARS-CoV-2; Specimen Handling; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thoracic Diseases
PubMed: 33399086
DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2020.100024 -
American Journal of Clinical Pathology Jul 2020At a discussion on molecular/cytogenetic education for hematopathology fellows at the 2018 Society for Hematopathology Program Directors Meeting, consensus was that...
OBJECTIVES
At a discussion on molecular/cytogenetic education for hematopathology fellows at the 2018 Society for Hematopathology Program Directors Meeting, consensus was that fellows should understand basic principles and indications for and limitations of molecular/cytogenetic testing used in routine practice. Fellows should also be adept at integrating results of such testing for rendering a final diagnosis. To aid these consensus goals, representatives from the Society for Hematopathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology formed a working group to devise a molecular/cytogenetic curriculum for hematopathology fellow education.
CURRICULUM SUMMARY
The curriculum includes a primer on cytogenetics and molecular techniques. The bulk of the curriculum reviews the molecular pathology of individual malignant hematologic disorders, with applicable molecular/cytogenetic testing for each and following the 2017 World Health Organization classification of hematologic neoplasms. Benign hematologic disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes are also discussed briefly. Extensive tables are used to summarize genetics of individual disorders and appropriate methodologies.
CONCLUSIONS
This curriculum provides an overview of the current understanding of the molecular biology of hematologic disorders and appropriate ancillary testing for their evaluation. The curriculum may be used by program directors for training hematopathology fellows or by practicing hematopathologists.
Topics: Curriculum; Education, Medical, Graduate; Fellowships and Scholarships; Hematology; Humans; Pathology, Clinical; Pathology, Molecular
PubMed: 32444878
DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa038 -
Missouri Medicine 2010
Topics: Humans; Medicine; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Pathology, Molecular
PubMed: 20446510
DOI: No ID Found -
Virchows Archiv : An International... Jan 2016Quality assurance is an indispensable element in a molecular diagnostic laboratory. The ultimate goal is to warrant patient safety. Several risks that can compromise... (Review)
Review
Quality assurance is an indispensable element in a molecular diagnostic laboratory. The ultimate goal is to warrant patient safety. Several risks that can compromise high quality procedures are at stake, from sample collection to the test performed by the laboratory, the reporting of test results to clinicians, and the organization of effective external quality assessment schemes. Quality assurance should therefore be safeguarded at each level and should imply a holistic multidisciplinary approach. This review aims to provide an overview of good quality assurance practices and discusses certain risks and recommendations to promote and improve quality assurance for both diagnostic laboratories and for external quality assessment providers. The number of molecular targets is continuously rising, and new technologies are evolving. As this poses challenges for clinical implementation and increases the demand for external quality assessment, the formation of an international association for improving quality assurance in molecular pathology is called for.
Topics: Biomarkers; Humans; Laboratories; Pathology, Molecular; Precision Medicine; Quality Assurance, Health Care
PubMed: 26306715
DOI: 10.1007/s00428-015-1839-z -
Clinics in Laboratory Medicine Dec 2013Molecular pathology is affecting and influencing the entire clinical laboratory. Furthermore, the union of pathology and molecular medicine continues to mature into an...
Molecular pathology is affecting and influencing the entire clinical laboratory. Furthermore, the union of pathology and molecular medicine continues to mature into an amalgam that will both define and serve the emerging field of personalized medicine. Advances in the understanding of pathobiology, high throughput automation, cost containment, and refined methodology will avail greater diagnostic and prognostic prowess and provide more efficient and appropriate therapeutic selection as well guide effective patient monitoring with respect to disease responses.
Topics: Genomics; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Pathology, Molecular
PubMed: 24267183
DOI: 10.1016/j.cll.2013.09.002 -
Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi. Folia... 2022
Topics: Humans; Organoids; Pathology, Molecular
PubMed: 36047162
DOI: 10.1254/fpj.22063 -
Der Pathologe Feb 2022
Topics: Genomics; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Pathology, Molecular; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 34643752
DOI: 10.1007/s00292-021-01009-5 -
Human Mutation Aug 2012Assessing the impact of variants of unknown significance (VUS) on splicing is a key issue in molecular diagnosis. This impact can be predicted by in silico tools, but...
Assessing the impact of variants of unknown significance (VUS) on splicing is a key issue in molecular diagnosis. This impact can be predicted by in silico tools, but proper evaluation and user guidelines are lacking. To fill this gap, we embarked upon the largest BRCA1 and BRCA2 splice study to date by testing 272 VUSs (327 analyses) within the BRCA splice network of Unicancer. All these VUSs were analyzed by using six tools (splice site prediction by neural network, splice site finder (SSF), MaxEntScan (MES), ESE finder, relative enhancer and silencer classification by unanimous enrichment, and human splicing finder) and the predictions obtained were compared with transcript analysis results. Combining MES and SSF gave 96% sensitivity and 83% specificity for VUSs occurring in the vicinity of consensus splice sites, that is, the surrounding 11 and 14 bases for the 5' and 3' sites, respectively. This study was also an opportunity to define guidelines for transcript analysis along with a tentative classification of splice variants. The guidelines drawn from this large series should be useful for the whole community, particularly in the context of growing sequencing capacities that require robust pipelines for variant interpretation.
Topics: BRCA1 Protein; BRCA2 Protein; Exons; Female; Humans; Pathology, Molecular; RNA Splicing
PubMed: 22505045
DOI: 10.1002/humu.22101 -
American Journal of Clinical Pathology May 2011
Topics: Cost-Benefit Analysis; Forecasting; Genome, Human; Human Genome Project; Humans; Pathology, Molecular; Precision Medicine; Sequence Analysis
PubMed: 21502418
DOI: 10.1309/AJCPBMXETHAPAV1E -
Cancer Cytopathology Sep 2020In this review, we describe molecular pathology testing to predict response to targeted treatment of solid tumors, focusing on Italian routine clinical practice. The... (Review)
Review
In this review, we describe molecular pathology testing to predict response to targeted treatment of solid tumors, focusing on Italian routine clinical practice. The combination of the universal health care system organized at national, regional, and local levels has led a decentralized model, with a large number of local laboratories performing in-house molecular testing following guidelines issued and external quality assessment organized by the Italian Society of Pathology and Cytopathology-Italian Division of the International Academy of Pathology. In this framework, in the early days of predictive testing, sponsored informatics platforms support to set up national programs that aimed to integrate the activity of oncologists and pathologists to test cancer patients for druggable alterations. More recently, reimbursement for molecular testing is being covered completely by the Italian National Health Service. In the near future, considering the development of complex technologies, we expect that outsourcing samples to next-generation sequencing referral laboratories will take place.
Topics: Biomarkers, Tumor; Cytodiagnosis; Humans; Italy; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; Neoplasms; Pathology, Molecular; Precision Medicine; Predictive Value of Tests
PubMed: 32885914
DOI: 10.1002/cncy.22290