Pathologic classification of products of conception that are obtained from patients with unexplained pregnancy loss contributes significantly to clinical management. Distinction of hydropic abortus, partial hydatidiform mole, and complete hydatidiform mole can be impossible when based on morphology alone, yet these entities have different risk for persistent gestational trophoblastic disease. The combination of paraffin immunohistochemistry for p57 protein…
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HPV‐associated head and neck squamous carcinomas have only been recently recognized. These malignancies are predominantly oropharyngeal, and their incidence is increasing.
NCCN guidelines recommend p16 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the workup of oropharynx cancer.
MPLN recommends p16 by IHC as the optimal test method for determining HPV status in head and neck squamous cancer. P16 and HPV positivity are strong, independent and favorable prognostic…
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The characteristic chromosomal abnormality associated with APL is t(15;17) which is identified in ~90% of cases. This translocation results in the fusion of promyelocytic leukemia (PML) and the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) protein. However, in approximately 10% of APL cases, t(15;17) is not detected due to cytogenetic failures, variant translocation, or more complex rearrangements (6). It is important to recognize these APL variants as they differ in prognosis and…
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Since tumors of the proximal colon have been shown to develop in a short period of time, many recent studies have targeted the precursor lesions of colorectal cancer. While the classical pathway of colorectal cancer development is via the APC and KRAS mutations, tumors can also develop from serrated precursor lesions through BRAF mutations, and these serrated lesions are considered to be the precursor lesion in over one-third of colorectal cancers.
Serrated…
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There continues to be a challenge for determining use of Trastuzumab therapy for breast and gastric patients with borderline HER2 results. The assays that are used to obtain the required data to populate these equivocal algorithms have not been standardized. A new study has been published that quantitatively evaluates the current recommendations for assessing HER2 amplifications. Using a statistical simulation approach, the study accomplished two…
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