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Updated: Oct 17, 2025
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
Precision diagnostics: integration of tissue pathology and genomics in cancer
Sowmya Sharma1, Peter George2, Nicola Waddell3
1Medlab Pathology, Auburn, NSW, Australia; QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Department of Genetics and Computational Biology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Abstract:
Traditionally, cancer diagnosis and management has been reactionary in that symptoms lead to investigations, then a diagnosis is followed by clinical management. This process is heavily dependent on tissue diagnosis mainly by histopathology and to a lesser extent, cytopathology. However, in recent times there has been a shift towards precision medicine to enable prevention, prediction and personalisation in healthcare. The core of precision medicine is optimising therapeutic benefit for patients, by using genomic and molecular profiling, analogously termed precision pathology. This review explores (1) the evolution of pathology from a para-clinical discipline to a mainstream medical field integral to oncology tumour boards; (2) its critical role in preventative, diagnostic, therapeutic and follow-up cancer care; (3) the future of tissue pathology in the era of precision oncology; and (4) how pathologists may evolve to future-proof their profession.
