Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States
Modern breast imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging, provides an increasingly clear depiction of breast cancer extent, often with suboptimal pathologic confirmation. Pathologic findings guide management decisions, and small increments in reported tumor characteristics may rationalize signifi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Breast Cancer |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/171792 |
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| author | F. Lee Tucker |
| author_facet | F. Lee Tucker |
| author_sort | F. Lee Tucker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Modern breast imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging, provides an increasingly clear depiction of breast cancer extent, often with suboptimal pathologic confirmation. Pathologic findings guide management decisions, and small increments in reported tumor characteristics may rationalize significant changes in therapy and staging. Pathologic techniques to grossly examine resected breast tissue have changed little during this era of improved breast imaging and still rely primarily on the techniques of gross inspection and specimen palpation. Only limited imaging information is typically conveyed to pathologists, typically in the form of wire-localization images from breast-conserving procedures. Conventional techniques of specimen dissection and section submission destroy the three-dimensional integrity of the breast anatomy and tumor distribution. These traditional methods of breast specimen examination impose unnecessary limitations on correlation with imaging studies, measurement of cancer extent, multifocality, and margin distance. Improvements in pathologic diagnosis, reporting, and correlation of breast cancer characteristics can be achieved by integrating breast imagers into the specimen examination process and the use of large-format sections which preserve local anatomy. This paper describes the successful creation of a large-format pathology program to routinely serve all patients in a busy interdisciplinary breast center associated with a community-based nonprofit health system in the United States. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0a6d3fbb49fc4b41afff926d4453e5c5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-3170 2090-3189 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Breast Cancer |
| spelling | doaj-art-0a6d3fbb49fc4b41afff926d4453e5c52025-02-03T07:25:50ZengWileyInternational Journal of Breast Cancer2090-31702090-31892012-01-01201210.1155/2012/171792171792Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United StatesF. Lee Tucker0Virginia Biomedical Laboratories, LLC, P.O. Box 510, Wirtz, VA 24184, USAModern breast imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging, provides an increasingly clear depiction of breast cancer extent, often with suboptimal pathologic confirmation. Pathologic findings guide management decisions, and small increments in reported tumor characteristics may rationalize significant changes in therapy and staging. Pathologic techniques to grossly examine resected breast tissue have changed little during this era of improved breast imaging and still rely primarily on the techniques of gross inspection and specimen palpation. Only limited imaging information is typically conveyed to pathologists, typically in the form of wire-localization images from breast-conserving procedures. Conventional techniques of specimen dissection and section submission destroy the three-dimensional integrity of the breast anatomy and tumor distribution. These traditional methods of breast specimen examination impose unnecessary limitations on correlation with imaging studies, measurement of cancer extent, multifocality, and margin distance. Improvements in pathologic diagnosis, reporting, and correlation of breast cancer characteristics can be achieved by integrating breast imagers into the specimen examination process and the use of large-format sections which preserve local anatomy. This paper describes the successful creation of a large-format pathology program to routinely serve all patients in a busy interdisciplinary breast center associated with a community-based nonprofit health system in the United States.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/171792 |
| spellingShingle | F. Lee Tucker Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States International Journal of Breast Cancer |
| title | Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States |
| title_full | Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States |
| title_short | Imaging-Assisted Large-Format Breast Pathology: Program Rationale and Development in a Nonprofit Health System in the United States |
| title_sort | imaging assisted large format breast pathology program rationale and development in a nonprofit health system in the united states |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/171792 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fleetucker imagingassistedlargeformatbreastpathologyprogramrationaleanddevelopmentinanonprofithealthsystemintheunitedstates |