Precision medicine for lung cancer: role of the surgical pathologist

Precision medicine is altering the traditional role of the surgical pathologist in caring for patients with lung cancer. Diagnosing specific cell type is now a foundation for selecting lung cancers for predictive-biomarker testing by molecular techniques. Using conventional techniques and familiar equipment, the surgical pathologist's role goes beyond this important step and will include screening for, and possibly diagnosis of, predictive biomarkers as we illustrate for one predictive biomarker. Pathologists should embrace the innovations described at the Houston Lung Symposium but must recognize that their traditional expertise will be an important component of precision medicine for the foreseeable future.