WHO REPORTING SYSTEM FOR PANCREATICOBILIARY CYTOPATHOLOGY

DESCRIPTION

The WHOReporting System for Pancreaticobiliary Cytopathology is Volume 2 of this newseries of reporting systems for cytopathology, which is a joint project of theInternational Academy of Cytology (IAC) and the International Agency forResearch on Cancer (IARC), a specialized agency of the World HealthOrganization (WHO). The series includes a unique synthesis of the publishedevidence and the practice of cytopathology, and it is linked to the WHOClassification of Tumours series, now in its 5th edition.
Cytopathologists look at tumours slightly differently than other specialistsdo, and there is a need for specialized reporting systems based on the keydiagnostic cytopathological features of tumours, presented in standardizedreports, within a hierarchical system of diagnostic categories. Thesecategories must also be linked to diagnostic management recommendations toimprove communication with clinicians and support patient care. And it isessential that these reporting systems be truly international, to serve theneeds of patients worldwide in many differently medically resourced settings.
WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF THIS FIRST EDITION OF THE SERIES?
These volumes are an essential tool for standardizing diagnosticcytopathology practice worldwide and will serve as a vehicle for thetranslation of cytopathology research into practice. The key diagnosticcytopathological features are listed for each tumour type under a defined setof diagnostic categories and described in precise, uniform language. These diagnosticcriteria represent the first international consensus and are underpinned byevidence that has been evaluated and debated by experts in the field. Eachlesion-specific section includes a dedicated subsection discussing thedifferential diagnosis of the cytopathological features that can be usedthroughout the world, including in low-resource settings, followed by asubsection describing the current best-practice application of ancillarytesting (including next-generation sequencing)