Am I missing Something? Essential Elements in Colorectal Cancer Pathology Reporting

This course on the pathologic examination of colorectal carcinomas will focus on the identification, evaluation, and interpretation of important parameters in the grading and staging of such neoplasms, with particular attention to prognostic and treatment implications. The topics covered will comprise all necessary features to be incorporated in the pathology report, including grading, staging, biomarkers, response to treatment, and particular prognostic factors more specific to colorectal carcinoma such as tumor deposits and tumor budding. With a fast-paced, interactive learning approach, faculty will present clinically relevant pathologic criteria and guidelines with specific examples aimed at understanding and applying those in routine practice. Learners will be invited to participate with opinions, questions, and comments. The diagnostic approach and content of the course is geared towards pathologists at all levels of training, from residents to attending pathologists, and in different types of settings, from academic centers to community hospitals.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the prognostic implications of histology grades and biomarker expression in colorectal cancer, particularly as they apply to clinical treatment decisions.
• Describe salient parameters in the pathologic staging of colorectal cancer according to the most recent guidelines, and establish their clinical importance.
• Identify and properly grade treatment effect in colorectal carcinoma and evaluate the significance of specific histologic findings in this setting, such as acellular mucin and immune infiltration.
• Illustrate important distinctions in the assessment of specific colorectal carcinoma prognostic factors, such as tumor deposits and tumor budding, and lymphovascular or perineural invasion.

Presenters:

Lisa M. Zhang
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Adrian Bateman
University of Southhampton

Moderator:

Alexandros Polydorides
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; The Mount Sinai Hospital