Molecular pathology of solid tumours: some practical suggestions for translating research into clinical practice

"Molecular pathology" can be broadly defined as the use of genetic data, in addition to the standard pathological parameters, to optimise diagnosis and to indicate treatment and prognosis. The benefit to be gained from the exploitation of molecular techniques to provide additional information to aid patient management is potentially vast. Currently, molecular pathology is rarely used in clinical practice, although it is anticipated that it will eventually become a part of routine practice. However, incorporating molecular techniques into routine practice will not be straightforward because there are several issues to be resolved. Following on from a symposium held at the Royal College of Pathologists to discuss some of these issues, the establishment of a committee of molecular pathology is proposed to plan and coordinate the introduction of molecular pathology into routine clinical practice.