Scripps Physicians Call for Shift in how Clinical Pathology Laboratories Process Cancer Tissue Samples
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers should fundamentally change how cancer specimens are handled
Three physicians at Scripps Health are calling for pathologists to rethink how they collect and store cancer tissue samples in two significant ways. They say that pathologists need to: 1) move away from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks and toward frozen samples; and, 2) start collecting larger samples.
These doctors used the Journal of the American Medical Association as a platform to issue their call for a change in what has been a long-standing standard of practice in anatomic pathology. Given the progressive nature of these opinions, there will certainly be dissenting voices within the pathology profession who are likely to add their voices to this debate.
