Cytology

August 2026—Although cytologists and cytopathologists expend considerable effort in screening, risk stratification, diagnosis, staging, and prognostication, clinicians are increasingly demanding ancillary testing that predicts response or resistance to the broad range of therapeutic agents available to them. In advanced-stage non-small cell lung carcinoma, these therapies include tyrosine kinase and other small-molecule inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates.

August 2026—Pediatric pathology remains a relatively small subspecialty within anatomic pathology. The American Board of Pathology since 1990 has issued only 648 subspecialty certificates in pediatric pathology, and between 2020 and 2024, only 14 to 21 candidates sat for the pediatric pathology certifying examination each year.

August 2026—Cytology specimens have long played a central role in primary diagnosis, with fine-needle aspiration often serving as the first—and sometimes only—procedure performed before treatment decisions are made. However, when molecular testing is needed, cytology material is still often viewed through a histology-centered lens: Is there a cell block or core biopsy?

August 2025—Case summary. A 52-year-old chronic smoker with a known MLH1 mutation and Lynch syndrome presented with a pleural-based lung lesion. Fine-needle aspiration revealed a malignant neoplasm with papillary architecture, featuring enlarged overlapping nuclei, coarse chromatin, prominent nucleoli, and rare mitotic figures. Given the patient’s clinical background and cytologic findings, a broad differential diagnosis including primary and metastatic tumors from both thoracic and ab-dominal origins was considered.

August 2025—Strides in medical imaging techniques and procurement methods have led to the acquisition of small diagnostic samples obtained by minimally invasive techniques. Over the same period, the breadth of molecular information that can be derived from limited tumor material has increased exponentially. In the age of targeted cancer therapy, the clinical utility of this information is substantial and, when coupled with the decreasing costs of molecular analysis, the information transformed the treatment landscape of cancer. These advances have brought cytology back into the spotlight as a potential source of material for biomarker analysis.