Yorkshire Regional Lymphoma Histopathology panel: analysis of five years' experience

Five years' experience of operating a Regional Lymphoma Histopathology Panel is described. During this period, approximately 1400 cases were registered of which nearly 1200 were confirmed as malignant lymphoma. Complete concordance of diagnosis was achieved between submitting pathologists and the Panel in two-thirds of cases of Hodgkin's disease and just over half of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Most discrepancies in diagnosis were found to be of clinical importance in terms of prognosis and/or therapeutic management of patients. In approximately two-thirds of such instances disagreement arose because of wrong assignment of tumour grade within the main lymphoma class but in one-third of cases the main class of lymphoma was wrongly designated. Panel members experienced similar diagnostic problems as submitting pathologists although to a lesser extent. The existence of the panel has not reduced the proportion of cases causing diagnostic difficulty for submitting pathologists or panel members during the 5 year study period. The principal cause of death was ascertained from death certificates and autopsy findings in nearly half the cases dying during the study period. In approximately half of these infection (largely pulmonary) played a major role while most of the remainder died of various cardiovascular, pulmonary or renal disorders. There was no specific pattern relating to the main lymphoma class. It is concluded that whilst the panel fulfils a useful function in resolving diagnostic difficulties and standardizing lymphoma diagnosis its role is restricted somewhat by the limitations imposed by conventional morphological assessments.