August 2026
Q. Are laboratories sticking to the established standard of spinning whole blood coagulation test tubes within four hours of specimen collection or are most changing to a 24-hour window (with some exceptions) per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines? Read answer.
Q. I am evaluating a large, well-circumscribed necrotic pelvic peritoneal implant in a case of serous borderline tumor (SBT) of the ovary. The implant shows nonviable necrotic tissue displaying only residual ghost papillary outlines with calcification. My initial interpretation is the peritoneal nodule is an invasive implant because it is large. I am assuming the necrosis represents infiltrative, destructive, and expansile neoplastic cells that form the large nodule (17 mm). I considered upgrading the SBT to low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC) because of the presence of this implant. However, since the implant is necrotic, I cannot reliably evaluate for tumor cells. In addition, it is rare to have an invasive implant without an invasive component at the primary site. What is your opinion regarding this implant? Read answer.