Ireland’s ‘CervicalCheck’ Cancer Screening Program Remains Plagued by Controversy Despite Reform Efforts

Two US clinical laboratories providing testing for the problem-laden program have been targets of lawsuits from women who allege their smear test results were misread In Ireland, the nation’s health service continues to deal with the consequences from problems with its “CervicalCheck” service that is designed to provide timely screening for the early detection of cervical cancer. It became a national scandal when the news media learned that a number of women had received diagnoses of terminal...

ASCO Study Shows Cervical Cancer Cases Have Declined by More than 1% Per Year Over the Past 16 Years, Likely Due to HPV Screening and Vaccine

Some experts question the usefulness of Pap testing going forward. But how would cutting back on Pap testing affect clinical laboratory revenue and is it safe for cancer patients? Recently, a major medical society issued its findings that cervical cancer in the United States has been on a sustained decline for more than a decade and a half. This confirms what cytopathologists and cytotechnologists have watched as the development of new clinical laboratory tests, and the introduction of a...

UCLA Researchers Develop Lens-Free Smartphone Microscope, Pathologists May Be Able to Take the Clinical Pathology Laboratory Just About Anywhere

In a trial, the lens-free microscope invention from the UCLA California Nano Systems Institute enabled a board-certified pathologist to detect cancers and other cellular abnormalities at 99% accuracy One of our favorite innovators is at it again, this time with a device that could eventually allow pathologists to use a device coupled with a smartphone to view cancer and other abnormalities at the cellular level. At UCLA, Professor Aydogan Ozcan, Ph.D. is already well known for having invented...

Genomic Study Reveals Role of Human Papillomavirus in Cervical Cancer and Identifies Novel Therapeutic Targets for the Disease

Findings may help physicians tailor cervical cancer therapies to specific gene mutations and improve the accuracy of diagnostic screening tests for this disease New scientific knowledge about the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the growth of cervical cancer is creating excitement within the medical community. Among other things, these findings could encourage more widespread vaccination against HPV. That in turn would lead to reduced Pap smear testing by pathology laboratories over time....

Clinical Pathology Laboratories Should Be Aware of New Malpractice Risks from Genetic Testing

Some medical laboratories may be exposed to malpractice suits involving prenatal genetic testing associated with “wrongful birth” claims Genetic testing is creating a new source of medical malpractice liability and early cases have generated substantial settlements for the plaintiffs. Any clinical laboratory organization or pathologist involved in genetic testing should pay serious attention to this emerging field of malpractice law. In particular, the media is reporting on malpractice...
;