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A review of pathology reporting for breast cancer
L H Wijetunga1, H L Carmalt, D J Gillett
1Concord Repatriation General Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
Background:
A detailed pathology report is important in the determination of treatment options and prognosis in breast cancer. Australia's first National Cancer Consensus Conference, held in 1994, recommended guidelines for the standardization of the clinical information to be provided to the pathologist, the specifications relating to the handling of specimens, and the resultant pathology report.
Methods:
We examined the current status of pathology reporting in invasive breast cancer in three New South Wales hospitals from 1986 to 1994.
Results:
Histopathologic type was documented in 99% of reports, grade was documented in 47%, size in 46%, and lymph node status in 98%. Only 27% of pathology reports reviewed documented the status of all the above parameters in the one report. Other features such as lymphatic and vascular invasion were documented in only 21% and 9% of pathology reports, respectively, while sex steroid receptor status was reported in almost 90% of cases.
Conclusions:
In view of the wide range in the percentage of features reported, we recommend the use of a standardized checklist for the pathological assessment of surgically resected invasive breast cancer specimens.