Newsbytes, 8/16
August 2016—Document-management systems worthwhile if you go extra mile; HHS releases guidance on ransomware attacks; McKesson alters IT business; Leica sample-tracking system added to Psyche products; Agilent buys iLab Solutions
Webinars and Sponsored Roundtables — Register Now
Wednesday, September 23, 2026. 12 PM-1 PM ET
Roundtable presenters Dr. David Sacks MB, ChB, FRCPath, Chairman, Steering Committee National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP), and Priya Sivaraman, PhD, Senior Technical Product Manager, Tosoh Bioscience
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Thursday, September 24, 2026 11 AM-12 PM CT
This session explores the evolving role of RAS in precision oncology, from the biology of RAS mutations to the expanding landscape of targeted therapies. Through expert presentations, real-world case discussions, and interactive audience polling, participants will examine best practices for RAS biomarker testing across solid tumors, including lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. The session will highlight practical considerations for tissue and liquid biopsy, strategies to address testing gaps, and the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration to ensure timely identification of patients who may benefit from RAS-targeted therapies.
Webinar presenters David Braxton, MD, Chief of Molecular Pathology Services, Hoag Family Cancer Institute & Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, and Carlos Becerra, MD, Research Director for Medical Oncology, Margaret Given Larkin Endowed Chair for Developmental Cancer Therapeutics, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Wednesday, September 30, 2026. 1 PM-1:30 PM ET
Roundtable presenters John Longshore, PhD, Head of Scientific Affairs, Global Oncology Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, and Flora Berisha, MS, Executive Director, Global Head of Diagnostic Partnering and Development, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, and Mark D. Ewalt, MD, Associate Medical Director for Laboratory Operations, Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Molecular Diagnostics Service, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Isabel Preeshagul, DO, MBS, Thoracic Medical Oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Thursday, October 1, 2026 1 PM-2 PM ET
This presentation will explore the value of in-house CGP, offer insights into the benefits and drawbacks of incorporation, and provide information about important practical factors when considering in-house implementation of CGP.
Webinar presenter Allison M. Cushman-Vokoun, MD, PhD, FCAP, Medical Director, Molecular Diagnostics and Personalized Medicine Laboratory, Director, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology and Human Genetics, Henry F. Krous Professor of Pathology, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 11 AM-12 PM ET
Hear experts review the biological and clinical significance of the HER2 expression continuum in breast tissue, providing a clearer understanding of how these variations might impact diagnosis, and discuss the emerging importance of documenting HER2-low and HER2-ultralow categories using a validated IHC assay.
Webinar presenters Keith Wharton, MD, PhD, Global Medical Affairs Leader–Pathology, Roche Diagnostics Solutions, and Hannah Y. Wen, MD, PhD, Director, Breast Pathology Fellowship, Associate Team Leader, Breast Pathology Team, Attending Pathologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Subspecialties
Interactive Product Guides
2016 Issues
Put It on the Board, 8/16
August 2016—LabCorp will acquire Sequenom; New York ends state PT services; St. Jude lands CAP ISO 15189 accreditation; Epigenomics’ DNA test included in CRC guideline; OSU to deploy Inspirata digital pathology solution; Mindray’s clinical chemistry analyzer cleared; Successful Keytruda trial stopped early; Top court clarifies autopsy’s place in Texas law; EUA for Siemens Zika assay
For certain thyroid lesions, the shift is on
July 2016—Time was running out for Yuri Nikiforov, MD, PhD, vice chair for molecular pathology and division director of molecular and genomic pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. For nearly a year he had been working to assemble an international group of experts—pathologists, endocrinologists, a surgeon, and, unusually, a psychiatrist and a patient advocate—to discuss that most vexing of thyroid tumors, encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, or EFVPTC.
Laboratory 2.0: Changing the conversation
July 2016—Bundled payments, physician employment, and unconventional competitors are cannibalizing the volume-based business model that for decades has defined laboratory medicine. And labs have little room within their customary confines—the three percent of health system spending they directly account for—to play a central role in American medicine’s transformation.
Making the best of PD-L1 IHC testing
July 2016—When Keith Kerr, MB ChB, describes the ideal biomarker, he isn’t hesitant about what pathologists and clinicians need. “Ideally, the biomarker would always be correct. It would be easy and practical to measure. It would either be present or absent, with no gray zone or doubt.
In C. diff and cardiac care, lab steps up decision support
July 2016—What’s the one way to win friends and influence people? If you’re Eugenio H. Zabaleta, PhD, the answer is simple: Reduce the number of stool samples nurses have to collect. A few years ago, Dr. Zabaleta, clinical chemist at OhioHealth Mans-field Hospital, introduced a clinical testing algorithm for C. difficile that cut the number of stool samples by almost 50 percent. “And the nurses are loooving me for it,” he says happily. “The joke is, when nursing and lab work together, there is literally less crap for everybody.”
From the President’s Desk: Keeping your eye on the ball—and not
July 2016—I love to read and I like to watch a good baseball game. Sometimes I can actually use one to enhance the other. No, this is not leading to a discussion on Bull Durham and how life is defined by baseball or Field of Dreams and the logic of build it and they will come.
A rare case of Diamond Blackfan anemia: identifying the causative mutation using NGS
July 2016—Diamond Blackfan anemia is a rare, inherited bone marrow failure syndrome manifesting as marked red cell aplasia and variable congenital anomalies. We report here a case of Diamond Blackfan anemia, which underscores the role of an integrated diagnostic workflow including hematopathologic evaluation and next-generation sequencing for establishing the diagnosis and potential management of rare, inherited bone marrow failure syndromes.
Shorts on Standards: Update on the frontier of NGS, 7/16
July 2016—Next-generation sequencing has continued to deliver on its promises and potential in the diagnostic arena. However, as with any emerging and evolving technology, the medical and scientific community faces the challenge of assessing the implications and demonstrating definitive clinical uses of its expanding capabilities, especially in the context of medical efficacy, clinical utility, and cost efficiency.
Poisoning, overdose: Better technology, workflow improve patient odds
July 2016—As pronouncements by fictional detectives go, one of the most famous is Sherlock Holmes’ declaration to Dr. Watson: “When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Unfortunately, Holmes’ advice is no practical rule of thumb for solving the real-world mysteries of patient poisoning or overdose, because the possibilities are often so vast.