From Liver & Biliary Lesion Procedures to Specimens to Diagnosis

Dr. Alison Van Dyke will briefly introduce the Cancer Pathology Coding Histology and Registration Terminology (Cancer PathCHART) initiative and will discuss two of the major data quality issues identified when developing the Cancer PathCHART standards for cases diagnosed 2024 and forward: adenocarcinoma, NOS and cholangiocarcinoma in the liver vs. biliary tract.

She will walk attendees through the major types of diagnostic procedures when a patient has a suspected liver or intrahepatic bile duct lesion(s) and the types of specimens produced. She will compare the levels and types of information in pathology reports for these lesions depending on the specimen type for frozen section, cytology, biopsy, and surgical excisions. Attendees will be shown the gross and microscopic differences between liver primaries, liver metastases, and intrahepatic bile duct primaries. She will cover what clinical context is consistent with an intrahepatic bile duct tumor. The presentation will conclude with issues ODS-certified cancer registrars should consider when reviewing diagnostic language in pathology reports. Following the presentation, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Learning Objectives:

Be aware of Cancer PathCHART and the data quality issues identified as the 2024 Cancer PathCHART site-morphology combination standards were developed.
Know the major types of diagnostic procedures utilized when a patient has a suspected liver or intrahepatic bile duct lesion.
Understand what levels and types of information can be gleaned from pathology reports for the spectrum of specimens (frozen section vs. cytology vs. biopsy vs. surgical excision).
Understand the basics of how pathologists distinguish between a liver primary, liver metastasis, and an intrahepatic bile duct primary and the clinical context consistent with intrahepatic bile duct primaries.

Credit Information

Activity Number	Credit Amount	Accreditation Period
2024-153	1 CE	September 05, 2024 - September 04, 2027

Instructor

Alison Van Dyke, MD, PhD, FCAP Instructor

Alison L. Van Dyke, MD, PhD, FCAP, is a physician with the Data Quality, Analysis, and Interpretation Branch of the Surveillance Research Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where she leads pathology-related initiatives, designed to bring novel data and tissue resources to SEER and improve data quality, including the Cancer Pathology Coding Histology and Registration Terminology (Cancer PathCHART) initiative. She earned her MD and PhD from Wayne State University School of Medicine with graduate training in cancer biology, postgraduate medical residency training in anatomic pathology at Yale, subspecialty training in thoracic pathology at University of Pittsburgh, and a postdoctoral fellowship at NCI. Dr. Van Dyke is board certified in Anatomic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology, a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the NCI/SEER Liaison to the CAP Cancer Committee, which determines what and how tumor information will be reported in pathology reports in North America.

Learning Module

Member

Non-Member

Instructor

Alison Van Dyke, MD, PhD, FCAP

Credit Information

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