Tag Archives: World Health Organization

August 2023—Accurate and timely diagnosis is the cornerstone of effective patient care, particularly in the field of pulmonary pathology. To address the challenges health care professionals face in diagnosing and reporting respiratory conditions, the International Academy of Cytology, together with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, recently developed the World Health Organization Reporting System for Lung Cytopathology

May 2023—Standardized reporting systems have been developed during the past decade for cytopathology of different organ systems including the pancreaticobiliary system. The Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology (PSC) in 2014 published the first reporting system for pancreaticobiliary cytology. Studies have demonstrated that implementation of the PSC reporting system has significantly reduced the number of “atypical” interpretations and increased the number of specific diagnoses.

March 2023—Updated classifications for hematologic neoplasms are here. Let the complications continue. As with other specialties, hematopathology has been absorbing advances gleaned from molecular and genetic data. In some cases, this can tilt diagnosis away from primarily immunophenotypic approaches. It might lead to splits in what was formerly a single entity. On occasion, it might suggest further testing options that could be of value to patients now, or possibly at a date down the road. Or it might just leave pathologists and their clinical colleagues peering at a lack of data, knowing they have to make decisions nonetheless. Two groups—the World Health Organization and the International Consensus Classification—have put forth classifications to help physicians sort through the complexities. The WHO published a beta version of the fifth edition of its Classification of Haematolymphoid Tumours in July 2022.

November 2021—Much has changed since the last WHO classification of central nervous system tumors was published five years ago. Case in point: When the group of authors met in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in late 2019, everyone anticipated two more WHO meetings in Europe to work further on the 2021 classification. Arie Perry, MD, a coauthor on both classifications, says the group photo was cheery. “Everybody was smiling.” The later trips to Europe were canceled because of the pandemic and the group met instead by Zoom. “Now everybody looked grumpy,” he says of a screen shot. Fortunately, “We got everything done, even if it wasn’t quite as pleasant,” says Dr. Perry, professor of pathology and neurological surgery, Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, University of California, San Francisco. The result is the latest WHO classification, which offers dramatic changes of its own. “I’m really excited about the new WHO,” he says. “At first it takes a little getting used to”—like, say, a face mask—“but I think it’s another major advance, just like we had last time.”

October 2019—You may not be curling up next to the fire with a cup of hot chocolate to read your copy of the new Digestive System Tumours, part of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours Series.