ModPath Chat

In this third of four special episodes highlighting the USCAP 2021 Long Course on Pulmonary Pathology, our host discusses with Dr. Natasha Rekhtman of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) her presentation on Neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Rekhtman offers her perspective on the current status of the classification of pulmonary NE tumors and the "grey zones" that remain to be tackled. &nb...

In this second of four special episodes highlighting the USCAP 2021 Long Course on Pulmonary Pathology, our host is joined by two distinguished faculty: Dr. Andrew Churg of the University of British Colombia and Dr. Maxwell Smith from the Mayo Clinic Arizona. The two international experts on interstitial lung disease (ILD) share their valuable perspective on "where we are and where we need to go"...

In this special episode, Dr. Sanja Dacic and Dr. Mary Beth Beasley highlight the topics of the upcoming Long Course on Pulmonary Pathology, that will air on March 13th during the USCAP 2021 annual meeting. As international experts and thought leaders on thoracic tumors, they have been heavily involved with developing guidelines for molecular biomarkers of mesotheliomas and Lung cancers. Tremendous...

MHC class I loss by tumor cells decreases tumor neoantigen presentation to the immune system and therefore represents a possible mechanism of immunotherapeutic resistance in cancers that otherwise could be good candidates for checkpoint inhibition (e.g. mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient and PD-L1-positive tumors). In this episode our guest, Dr. Anne Mills discusses her recent Modern Pathology public...

Pathological risk factors for metastatic disease in patients with testicular non-seminomatous germ cell tumors are debated. The tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification eighth edition for testicular cancers includes divergent versions, by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and by the American Joint Committee for Cancer (AJCC). In this episode we discuss with Dr. Daniel Berney his rece...

This episode’s guest, Dr. David Chapel, was the recipient of the 2020 USCAP Stephen Vogel Award for his research as a trainee in the University of Chicago! Here, he discusses his recent report on a multi-institutional cohort of 225 malignant peritoneal mesotheliomas, assessed for 21 clinical, morphologic, and immunohistochemical potential prognostic parameters. The exemplary study, published...

APOBEC3B (A3B) is a newly recognized endogenous source of mutations in a range of human cancers by inflicting C-to-T or C-to-G base substitutions in 5′-TCA/T trinucleotide motifs. In this episode, Drs. Harris and Argyris discuss the impact of their recent findings on the role of APOBEC3A in Head and Neck Squamous Cancer. Study by Argyris et al, Endogenous APOBEC3B overexpression characterizes HPV-...

The Host discusses with Dr. Philip IP (Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong) his recent study re-assessing Cervical adenocarcinoma with Serous-Like morphology in light of the recent changes in the Classification of cervical adenocarcinomas. Study by Wong et al, Cervical carcinomas with serous-like papillary and micropapillary components: illustrating the heterogeneity of primar...

Dr. Netto reflects on the topics of the most cited manuscripts published in Modern Pathology in 2020. A brief discussion of five selected studies involving COVID-19, DICER1, NTRK, Precursor lesions of HPV-Independent Vulvar Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Applications of Computational Pathology and Artificial Intelligence in Pathology.

Dr. Netto discusses with his two guests, Dr. Peter MCaffrey from the UTMB in Galveston and Dr. Adam Booth, their publication on developing a machine learning model using 5 serum chemistry laboratory parameters for the prediction of death from COVID-19. The discussion is followed by a conversation on the exciting role of AI and social media in Pathology given the unique expertise of the guests...

Dr. Peter Sadow, Director of Head and Neck Pathology at MGH discusses with Modern Pathology Editor Dr. George Netto his recent work defining morphologic correlates of the expanding list of Kinase Fusions driving thyroid cancers. A triage testing algorithm and therapeutic implications are highlighted in the discussion. Study by Chu et al, Clinicopathologic features of kinase fusion-related thyroid...

The recent publication of the "Pan-Cancer Atlas" by the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium provided a great opportunity for Dr. Ralph Hruban and his team to reflect on where we stand in our understanding of the genetics of pancreatic cancer. From germline variants that predispose to the development of the disease, to somatic mutations that are therapeutically targetable, genetics is n...

The host discusses with Professor Ondrej Hes, from the Charles University in the Czech Republic, his recent multi-institutional study that further defines ALK-RCC as a genetically distinct renal cancer type showing a heterogeneous histomorphology. The authors advocate a routine ALK IHC screening for "unclassifiable RCCs" with heterogeneous features.  Study by Kuroda et al, ALK rearranged rena...

Dr Netto discusses with Dr. Andrew Folpe a novel tumor of soft tissue and bone with a predilection for young females. The newly discovered lesion is provisionally termed "xanthogranulomatous epithelial tumor". Clues to the diagnosis of this tumor type are presented by Dr. Folpe with a practical guide to navigating the challenging differential diagnosis of epithelial expression in mesench...

A discussion with Dr. Borczuk of New York Presbyterian Hospital- Weill Cornell Medicine on his team findings in sixty eight COVID-19 autopsies, performed early on during the pandemic, at 3 institutions in heavily hit areas (2 USA, 1 Italy). While a heterogeneous disease, COVID-19 pneumonia displayed consistent features in all three centers. Study by Borczuk et al, COVID-19 pulmonary pathology: a m...

Modern Pathology Editor in Chief discusses with Laura Wood MD PhD her recent study on quantitative assessment of residual pancreatic intraductal carcinoma following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The implications of finding that the intraductal component of pancreatic cancer is more resistant to chemotherapy are highlighted. Study by Fujikura et al, Intraductal pancreatic cancer is less responsive...

A novel tumor type with EWSR-CREB fusions blending features of Angiomatoid FH and Mesothelioma; a discussion with the author Pedram Argani. Study by Argani et al, EWSR1/FUS–CREB  fusions define a distinctive malignant epithelioid neoplasm with predilection for mesothelial-lined cavities. Modern Pathology, 2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41379-020-0646-5

A conversation with David Rimm, the author of a recent study on Triple negative breast cancer, on using a novel statistical algorithm (ONEST) to improve reproducibility of PD-L1 assessment by pathologists. Study by Reisenbichler et al, Prospective multi-institutional evaluation of pathologist assessment of PD-L1 assays for patient selection in triple negative breast cancer. Modern Pathology, 2020....