Adequacy of Surgical Pathology Reports of Colorectal Carcinoma and Its Significance

Abstract

IntroductionColorectal cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world. For loco-regionally confined disease surgery is the definitive treatment. An adequate surgical pathology report is mandatory for the selection of adjuvant therapy. The objective of this study is to analyze whether adequate information is provided or not in the surgical pathology reports of colorectal carcinoma as according to College of American Pathologists (CAP) guidelines. MethodThis is a cross-sectional study carried out in the Department of Clinical Oncology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Karachi, tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. The duration of the study was from February 2020 to January 2021. A total of 153 surgical pathology reports issued by 11 different hospitalbased laboratories after definitive surgery was assessed to look at its concordance rate with the checklist adapted from the CAP guidelines. ResultsOut of 153 surgical pathology reports, clinical information was provided in 72.5% of reports. Details of tumor extension were present in 88.2%, tumor margin in 75%, surgical procedure in 79%, and tumor deposits in 39.2% of reports. Macroscopic details including tumor perforation and evaluation of mesorectum were documented in 51.6% and 53.5% of the reports respectively. Details regarding perineural invasion along with lymphovascular invasion were present in 81.6% and 93% of the reports, respectively. The treatment effect was documented in only 25% of reports and regional lymph node status has been described in 85% of reports. Parameters described in all surgical pathology reports were: tumor site, tumor type, histologic type, and histologic grade. The pathological stage of the disease was documented in 91.5% of the reports. ConclusionThis study concluded that surgical pathology reports of the majority of pathology laboratories were not fully adhered to the checklist provided by the CAP guidelines. This will affect post-operative management along with the prediction of disease prognosis.

Concordance Rate of Pre-Operative Radiological Stage with Postoperative Pathological Stage in Colon Cancer

“…Preoperative clinical staging of colon cancer is essential for patient-tailored treatment strategies 10,11 , To this end, our observational prospective study assessed concordance between preoperative radiological and postoperative pathological staging in colon cancer patients. This observational prospective study included 227 patients in total.…”