Pathology Articles
Best Practices Recommendations for Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry in Lung Cancer
Since the 2015 WHO classification was introduced into clinical practice, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has figured prominently in lung cancer diagnosis. In addition to distinction of small cell versus non–small cell carcinoma, patients’ treatment of choice is directly linked to histologic subtypes of non–small cell carcinoma, which pertains to IHC results, particularly for poorly differentiated tumors. The use of IHC has improved diagnostic accuracy in the classification of lung carcinoma, but the interpretation of IHC results remains challenging in some instances.PD-L1 Immunohistochemistry Comparability Study in Real-Life Clinical Samples: Results of Blueprint Phase 2 Project
The Blueprint (BP) Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Immunohistochemistry Comparability Project is a pivotal academic/professional society and industrial collaboration to assess the feasibility of harmonizing the clinical use of five independently developed commercial PD-L1 immunohistochemistry assays. The goal of BP phase 2 (BP2) was to validate the results obtained in BP phase 1 by using real-world clinical lung cancer samples.PD-L1 Immunohistochemistry Assays for Lung Cancer: Results from Phase 1 of the Blueprint PD-L1 IHC Assay Comparison Project
The Blueprint Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Assay Comparison Project is an industrial-academic collaborative partnership to provide information on the analytical and clinical comparability of four PD-L1 IHC assays used in clinical trials.The 2015 World Health Organization Classification of Lung Tumors: Impact of Genetic, Clinical and Radiologic Advances Since the 2004 Classification
The 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of the Lung, Pleura, Thymus and Heart has just been published with numerous important changes from the 2004 WHO classification. The most significant changes in this edition involve (1) use of immunohistochemistry throughout the classification, (2) a new emphasis on genetic studies, in particular, integration of molecular testing to help personalize treatment strategies for advanced lung cancer patients, (3) a new classification for small biopsies and cytology similar to that proposed in the 2011 Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society classification, (4) a completely different approach to lung adenocarcinoma as proposed by the 2011 Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society classification, (5) restricting the diagnosis of large cell carcinoma only to resected tumors that lack any clear morphologic or immunohistochemical differentiation with reclassification of the remaining former large cell carcinoma subtypes into different categories, (6) reclassifying squamous cell carcinomas into keratinizing, nonkeratinizing, and basaloid subtypes with the nonkeratinizing tumors requiring immunohistochemistry proof of squamous differentiation, (7) grouping of neuroendocrine tumors together in one category, (8) adding NUT carcinoma, (9) changing the term sclerosing hemangioma to sclerosing pneumocytoma, (10) changing the name hamartoma to “pulmonary hamartoma,” (11) creating a group of PEComatous tumors that include (a) lymphangioleiomyomatosis, (b) PEComa, benign (with clear cell tumor as a variant) and (c) PEComa, malignant, (12) introducing the entity pulmonary myxoid sarcoma with an EWSR1–CREB1 translocation, (13) adding the entities myoepithelioma and myoepithelial carcinomas, which can show EWSR1 gene rearrangements, (14) recognition of usefulness of WWTR1–CAMTA1 fusions in diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas, (15) adding Erdheim–Chester disease to the lymphoproliferative tumor, and (16) a group of tumors of ectopic origin to include germ cell tumors, intrapulmonary thymoma, melanoma and meningioma.Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Immunohistochemistry in Lung Cancer: In what state is this art?
Therapeutic antibodies to programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 show promising clinical results. Anti-PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) may be a biomarker to select patients more likely to respond to these treatments. However, the development of at least four different therapeutics, each with a different anti-PD-L1 IHC assay, has raised concerns among pathologists and oncologists alike. This article reviews existing data on the IHC biomarker aspects of studies using these drugs in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and considers the challenges ahead, should these drug/IHC assay combinations reach routine practice.Reproducibility of Histopathological Diagnosis in Poorly Differentiated NSCLC: An International Multiobserver Study
The 2004 World Health Organization classification of lung cancer contained three major forms of non–small-cell lung cancer: squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC), adenocarcinoma (AdC), and large cell carcinoma. The goal of this study was first, to assess the reproducibility of a set of histopathological features for SqCC in relation to other poorly differentiated non–small-cell lung cancers and second, to assess the value of immunohistochemistry in improving the diagnosis.
