Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
13:24
Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies
Published on: April 11, 2016
Quality in cancer diagnosis
Stephen S Raab1, Dana M Grzybicki
1Department of Pathology, University of Colorado-Denver, Aurora, CO, USA. stephen.raab@ucdenver.edu
CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians
|May 7, 2010
Summary
Improving cancer diagnosis quality is crucial. Oncologic pathology errors, ranging from 1-15%, can cause delays or further testing, highlighting the need for clinical practitioner involvement in error reduction.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pathology
- Diagnostic Accuracy
Background:
- The quality of oncologic pathology diagnosis is critical for cancer patient management.
- Millions of cancer diagnoses and rule-out cases rely on pathological interpretation of tissue samples.
- Previous research primarily focused on patient safety and error causes in diagnostic testing phases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the importance of oncologic pathology diagnosis quality.
- To analyze the frequency and impact of diagnostic errors in oncologic pathology.
- To identify the role of clinical practitioners in mitigating these errors.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on oncologic pathology diagnostic errors.
- Analysis of reported error frequencies and their impact on patient care.
- Examination of clinical practitioner contributions to error reduction.
Main Results:
- Diagnostic errors in oncologic pathology range from 1% to 15%, depending on definitions and detection methods.
- While severe harm is rare, mild to moderate harm (e.g., delays, extra tests) occurs in up to 50% of errors.
- Clinical practitioners significantly influence error reduction through test ordering, information provision, specimen quality, follow-up, and advocating second opinions.
Conclusions:
- Enhancing oncologic pathology diagnostic quality is vital for patient outcomes.
- Understanding error frequencies and impacts is key to improving diagnostic processes.
- Active clinical practitioner engagement is essential for minimizing diagnostic errors and improving patient safety in oncology.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Cancer Survival Analysis
Cancer survival analysis focuses on quantifying and interpreting the time from a key starting point, such as diagnosis or the initiation of treatment, to a specific endpoint, such as remission or death. This analysis provides critical insights into treatment effectiveness and factors that influence patient outcomes, helping to shape clinical decisions and guide prognostic evaluations. A cornerstone of oncology research, survival analysis tackles the challenges of skewed, non-normally...
01:10Documentation of Nursing Diagnosis
The nurse documents nursing diagnoses and enters them into the patient record. The identified patient's nursing diagnosis is either written out with a plan of care or entered into the electronic health record.
In some settings, data-driven computerized decision support systems are in place, allowing for more accurate nursing diagnoses. The database within one of these systems includes diagnostic labels defining characteristics, activities, and indicators for nursing. A nurse enters assessment...
In some settings, data-driven computerized decision support systems are in place, allowing for more accurate nursing diagnoses. The database within one of these systems includes diagnostic labels defining characteristics, activities, and indicators for nursing. A nurse enters assessment...
02:18Cancer
Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.