* Context.--Recent studies have uncovered a number of possible mechanisms by which prostate cancers can become resistant to systemic androgen deprivation, most involving androgen-independent reactivation of the androgen receptor. Genome-wide expression analysis with microarrays has identified a wide array of genes that are differentially expressed in metastatic prostate cancers compared ...

Context.--Renal cell carcinoma is a heterogeneous group of tumors with distinct histopathologic features, molecular characteristics, and clinical outcome. These tumors can be sporadic as well as familial or associated with syndromes. The genetic abnormalities underlying these syndromes have been identified and were subsequently found in corresponding sporadic renal tumors.

Context.--Nonneoplastic kidney diseases, such as arterionephrosclerosis and/or diabetic nephropathy, are commonly encountered in tumor nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy specimens. Although any nonneoplastic kidney disease may be encountered in these resection specimens by chance, additional diseases that may be related to the underlying neoplasm or its treatment regimen include thrombotic microangiopathy, Amyloid ...

* In this short review, we discuss clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder, a rare tumor that primarily affects women. The histogenesis of this neoplasm is uncertain; in some tumors the clinicopathologic and histologic features are suggestive of a mullerian origin. Clear cell adenocarcinoma consists of cells with abundant ...

* Fistulas between the aorta and tracheobronchial tree are rare fatal complications that occur in patients treated with external and endobronchial radiation for carcinomas of the upper and lower respiratory tract. The etiopathogenesis can be multifactorial. We report the case of a patient with irradiated tracheal carcinoma who died of ...

Context.--The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations for proficiency testing (PT) include prohibitions against intentional PT sample referral or result communication, and specify sanctions against laboratories that violate these regulations. There has been little published analysis of sanctions against clinical laboratories because of PT violations.

Context.--Anatomic pathology diagnosis is often based on morphologic features. In recent years, an appropriate increased attention to patient safety has led to an emphasis on improving maintenance of patient identity. Decreasing or eliminating cross-contamination from one specimen to another is an example of a patient identity issue for which process ...

* Context.--Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare vascular neoplasm of intermediate malignancy. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma often presents a difficult diagnostic problem, especially in bone, because the epithelioid morphology and radiographic features raise the possibility of metastatic carcinoma. The current trend of small biopsies obtained with computed tomography-guided techniques exacerbates the problem. ...

* Context.--Correction factors have been proposed for estimating true potassium concentrations in blood samples with evidence of in vitro hemolysis.

* Context.--Recently described variants of epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma have not been well characterized but raise a distinct set of differential diagnostic considerations than the classic type.

* Context.--A variety of document control practices are required of clinical laboratories by US regulation, laboratory accreditors, and standard-setting organizations.

* The health care system is extremely complex and it is currently undergoing a massive transformation with rapid advances in technology. Pathology services have been leading the technology adaptation process and will continue to evolve rapidly with the introduction of "omics" technology. Future pathology informatics systems (PIS) will need to ...

* The introduction of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems is associated with major changes in work processes. Implementation strategies need to consider how the technology will affect and be affected by the organization in which it is being installed. The aim of this study was to examine the potential ...

* Pathology and clinical laboratories produce many types of data and information that are of relevance in protecting the health of the public. Electronic linkages between laboratory/pathology information systems and public health surveillance databases help ensure that these data reach the appropriate responder rapidly, completely, and accurately. Many efforts are ...

* Context.--Traditional biothreat surveillance systems are vulnerable to incomplete and delayed reporting of public health threats.

To cope with recent advances in radiologic imaging technology, a corresponding method for pathomorphologic demonstration should be developed to promote better understanding of radiologic-pathologic correlation. We attempted to obtain gross and microscopic images by using a 3-dimensional analytic tool and virtual microscopy and to link these images with multidetector computed ...

The field of hematopathology has been a leader in the application of new technologies for both diagnostics and therapy. The ready accessibility of blood cells for examination, the ability to quantify important indices, and the relative responsiveness of otherwise fatal hematologic diseases to chemotherapy have all contributed to rapid advances ...

* Context.--Interpretation of papillary lesions of the breast remains a challenging task because of the wide morphologic spectrum encountered in the benign, atypical, and malignant subtypes. Data on clinical significance and outcome of papillary lesions, with superimposed atypia or areas similar to ductal carcinoma in situ partially replacing the benign ...

* Context.--More than 25 years ago, John G. Azzopardi described a distinctive intraepithelial neoplastic breast lesion, which he designated "clinging carcinoma in situ"; he considered it as another variant of ductal carcinoma in situ, an early lesion that can easily be missed because the changes are mainly cytologic rather than ...

* Context.--The presence or absence of metastases in axillary lymph nodes is one of the most important prognostic factors for patients with breast cancer. During the past decade sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been increasingly adopted as a minimally invasive staging alternative to complete axillary node dissection.

Context.--Advances in the understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms of breast cancer have led to realization of the heterogeneity of the disease and the promise of a new era of individualized management for patients with breast cancer. The advent and use of high-throughput molecular methods for the study of ...

* Context.--Gene expression-based prognostic assays for breast cancer are now available as commercial reference laboratory tests covered by insurance.

* We present a brief review of sclerosing hemangioma, an uncommon but histologically distinctive neoplasm of the lung. Based on immunohistochemical and molecular findings, sclerosing hemangioma is thought to be derived from incompletely differentiated respiratory epithelium. Sclerosing hemangiomas typically present as asymptomatic, peripheral, solitary, well-circumscribed lesions in women with a ...

Epithelioid sarcomas are rare, mesenchymal tumors of unknown histogenesis and display multidirectional differentiation, which is predominantly epithelial. They have no normal cellular counterpart and differ from both synovial sarcoma and carcinoma. They account for less than 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas and are usually slow growing, with peak incidence ...

We describe a case of a paratesticular paraganglioma in a 33-year-old man who presented with a scrotal mass and underwent a right testicular exploration. Metastasis is the only definite criterion for diagnosis of a malignant paraganglioma; however, lymphovascular invasion was noted in this case, which warranted a close clinical surveillance.The ...

Context.--Death from corpora aliena in the larynx is a well-known entity in forensic pathology. The correct diagnosis of this cause of death is difficult without an autopsy, and misdiagnoses by external examination alone are common.

Context.--Cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (CMVPTC) is one of the rare types of papillary carcinoma. It has been associated with familial adenomatous polyposis, though it can also occur sporadically. The molecular pathogenesis of this tumor is incompletely understood. It appears that there can be molecular contributions from the RET/PTC ...

Context.--From January 1995 to June 2003, there were 514 patients who underwent pulmonary valve replacements at either the Hospital for Sick Children or Toronto General Hospital. Fifty-four (10.5%) of these adults returned for replacement of their prostheses because of failure. Forty (74.1%) of the 54 explants were bioprostheses, and 14 ...

Context.--Bladder diverticula often come to clinical attention when complications or malignancy occur, although limited information is available regarding histopathologic features and clinical outcomes.

Context.--Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is recommended as an initial screening tool for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Approximately 10% of thyroid FNA diagnoses are "suspicious for neoplasm," warranting surgical resection.

Context.--Nodal metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors in colorectal carcinoma. The number of lymph nodes recovered and examined in resection specimens has been recently shown to be critical for proper staging and is associated with survival.

Context.--The American Society of Clinical Oncology/ College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) guideline recommendations from January 2007 identified many sources of immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing variation.

Context.--BK virus strains or regulatory region sequence variations may play a role in the pathogenesis of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN), although no definite relationship has yet been demonstrated.

Context.--The complexities of diagnostic hematopathology in the modern era are well known, and even in this molecular era, immunophenotypic studies, together with routine histopathology, remain a critical component in the evaluation of many lymphoid proliferations. With numerous antibodies that can be used on routinely fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections, immunohistochemistry has ...

* Context. -- The use of DNA- and RNA-based tests continues to grow for applications as varied as inherited disease, infectious disease, cancer, identity testing, human leukocyte antigen typing, and pharmacogenetics. Progress is driven in part by the huge growth in knowledge about the molecular basis of disease coupled with ...

Context. -- The presence of malignant cells in peritoneal washings leads to classification as International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IC or higher in ovarian carcinomas and at least International Federa Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIA in endometrial carcinomas. Unfortunately, the morphologic examination of cytologic specimens has not proven ...

Context. -- The correct diagnosis and reporting of cervical in situ and invasive carcinoma are essential for the appropriate clinical management of patients with human papillomavirus-associated disease.

Context. -- The pathologist evaluating breast biopsy specimens sometimes encounters nonneoplastic alterations of the mammary epithelium that raise the differential diagnosis of atypia. Because the identification of atypical ductal hyperplasia of the breast has significant clinical implications, it is important to correctly recognize its nonneoplastic morphologic mimics.

Context. -- The morphologic spectrum of mammary fibroepithelial lesions ranges from fibroadenoma, a common benign neoplasm, to phyllodes tumor, an uncommon lesion that can sometimes recur and metastasize.

Context.--The most commonly encountered malignant neoplasms of the sinonasal tract are the keratinizing and nonkeratinizing types of squamous cell carcinoma. However, this complex anatomic region may represent the site of aggressive, non-squamous cell epithelial and nonepithelial malignant neoplasms of varying histogenesis, which are grouped under the term undifferentiated malignant neoplasms. ...

Context.--Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a benign, self-limited lesion of both major and minor salivary glands, although more commonly the latter. It can represent a diagnostic dilemma and may be mistaken for a malignant neoplasm, such as mucoepidermoid carcinoma, as well as invasive squamous cell carcinoma. A major causal relationship has been ...

Context.--Despite past and recent efforts, many problems and controversies remain in the classification of thyroid carcinomas of follicular cell origin. These controversies have an impact on the prognosis and therapy of patients with thyroid carcinoma as well as on the development of robust cutting-edge research aimed at better outcome and ...