The evolving landscape of precision oncology underscores the pivotal shift from morphological diagnosis to treatment decisions driven by molecular profiling. Recent guidelines from the European Society for Medical Oncology recomend the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) across a broader range of cancers, reflecting its superior efficiency and clinical value. NGS not only updates oncology testing by offering quicker, sample-friendly, and sensitive analysis but also reduces the need for multiple individual tests. Cytology samples, often obtained through less invasive methods, can yield high-quality genetic material suitable for molecular analysis. This article focuses on optimizing the use of cytology samples in NGS, and outlines their potential benefits in identifying actionable molecular alterations for targeted therapies across various solid tumors. It also addresses the need for validation studies and the strategies to incorporate or combine different types of samples into routine clinical practice. Integrating cytological and liquid biopsies into routine clinical practice, alongside conventional tissue biopsies, offers a comprehensive approach to tumor genotyping, early disease detection, and monitoring of therapeutic responses across various solid tumor types. For comprehensive biomarker characterization, all patient specimens, although limited, is always valuable.
Jiwon Koh, Ha Young Park, Jeong Mo Bae, Jun Kang, Uiju Cho, Seung Eun Lee, Haeyoun Kang, Min Eui Hong, Jae Kyung Won, Youn-La Choi, Wan-Seop Kim, Ahwon Lee
J Pathol Transl Med. 2023;57(5):265-272. Published online September 15, 2023
Background The importance of molecular pathology tests has increased during the last decade, and there is a great need for efficient training of molecular pathology for pathology trainees and as continued medical education.
Methods The Molecular Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists appointed a task force composed of experienced molecular pathologists to develop a refined educational curriculum of molecular pathology. A 3-day online educational session was held based on the newly established structure of learning objectives; the audience were asked to score their understanding of 22 selected learning objectives before and after the session to assess the effect of structured education.
Results The structured objectives and goals of molecular pathology was established and posted as a web-based interface which can serve as a knowledge bank of molecular pathology. A total of 201 pathologists participated in the educational session. For all 22 learning objectives, the scores of self-reported understanding increased after educational session by 9.9 points on average (range, 6.6 to 17.0). The most effectively improved items were objectives from next-generation sequencing (NGS) section: ‘NGS library preparation and quality control’ (score increased from 51.8 to 68.8), ‘NGS interpretation of variants and reference database’ (score increased from 54.1 to 68.0), and ‘whole genome, whole exome, and targeted gene sequencing’ (score increased from 58.2 to 71.2). Qualitative responses regarding the adequacy of refined educational curriculum were collected, where favorable comments dominated.
Conclusions Approach toward the education of molecular pathology was refined, which would greatly benefit the future trainees.
Background The metastatic brain tumor is the most common brain tumor. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the clinicopathological and molecular pathologic features of brain metastases (BM).
Methods A total of 269 patients were diagnosed with BM through surgical resection at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2010 to March 2020. We reviewed the clinicopathological features and molecular status of primary and metastatic brain tissues using immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology results.
Results Among 269 patients, 139 males and 130 females were included. The median age of primary tumor was 58 years (range, 13 to 87 years) and 86 patients (32.0%) had BM at initial presentation. Median BM free interval was 28.0 months (range, 1 to 286 months). The most frequent primary site was lung 46.5% (125/269), and followed by breast 15.6% (42/269), colorectum 10.0% (27/269). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation was found in 50.8% (32/63) and 58.0% (40/69) of lung primary and BM, respectively. In both breast primary and breast cancer with BM, luminal B was the most frequent subtype at 37.9% (11/29) and 42.9% (18/42), respectively, followed by human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 with 31.0% (9/29) and 33.3% (14/42). Triple-negative was 20.7% (6/29) and 16.7% (7/42), and luminal A was 10.3% (3/29) and 7.1% (3/42) of breast primary and BM, respectively. In colorectal primary and colorectal cancer with BM, KRAS mutation was found in 76.9% (10/13) and 66.7% (2/3), respectively.
Conclusions We report the clinicopathological and molecular pathologic features of BM that can provide useful information for understanding the pathogenesis of metastasis and for clinical trials based on the tumor’s molecular pathology.
Young Soo Park, Myeong-Cherl Kook, Baek-hui Kim, Hye Seung Lee, Dong-Wook Kang, Mi-Jin Gu, Ok Ran Shin, Younghee Choi, Wonae Lee, Hyunki Kim, In Hye Song, Kyoung-Mee Kim, Hee Sung Kim, Guhyun Kang, Do Youn Park, So-Young Jin, Joon Mee Kim, Yoon Jung Choi, Hee Kyung Chang, Soomin Ahn, Mee Soo Chang, Song-Hee Han, Yoonjin Kwak, An Na Seo, Sung Hak Lee, Mee-Yon Cho
J Pathol Transl Med. 2023;57(1):1-27. Published online January 15, 2023
The first edition of ‘A Standardized Pathology Report for Gastric Cancer’ was initiated by the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists and published 17 years ago. Since then, significant advances have been made in the pathologic diagnosis, molecular genetics, and management of gastric cancer (GC). To reflect those changes, a committee for publishing a second edition of the report was formed within the Gastrointestinal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists. This second edition consists of two parts: standard data elements and conditional data elements. The standard data elements contain the basic pathologic findings and items necessary to predict the prognosis of GC patients, and they are adequate for routine surgical pathology service. Other diagnostic and prognostic factors relevant to adjuvant therapy, including molecular biomarkers, are classified as conditional data elements to allow each pathologist to selectively choose items appropriate to the environment in their institution. We trust that the standardized pathology report will be helpful for GC diagnosis and facilitate large-scale multidisciplinary collaborative studies.
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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has recently emerged as an essential component of personalized cancer medicine due to its high throughput and low per-base cost. However, no sufficient guidelines for implementing NGS as a clinical molecular pathology test are established in Korea. To ensure clinical grade quality without inhibiting adoption of NGS, a taskforce team assembled by the Korean Society of Pathologists developed laboratory guidelines for NGS cancer panel testing procedures and requirements for clinical implementation of NGS. This consensus standard proposal consists of two parts: laboratory guidelines and requirements for clinical NGS laboratories. The laboratory guidelines part addressed several important issues across multistep NGS cancer panel tests including choice of gene panel and platform, sample handling, nucleic acid management, sample identity tracking, library preparation, sequencing, analysis and reporting. Requirements for clinical NGS tests were summarized in terms of documentation, validation, quality management, and other required written policies. Together with appropriate pathologist training and international laboratory standards, these laboratory standards would help molecular pathology laboratories to successfully implement NGS cancer panel tests in clinic. In this way, the oncology community would be able to help patients to benefit more from personalized cancer medicine.
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