Tumor Boards – What Are They Good For?

There is a recent piece over at Corista’s blog entitled “We gave up looking at pathology slides a long time ago” that talks about all too common problem I think in pathology and medicine – the lack of pathology in tumor boards.

Most of us who do this perhaps have been spoiled in the past decade with digital radiology and digital pathology supporting education and management conferences, such as tumor boards, but some of our colleagues are not as fortunate.  

These folks are still left to read pathology reports in dark rooms and as everyone who knows a pathologist knows, a pathologist cannot talk without slides.  We can’t give directions without looking at a map.  We can’t describe our house without a picture of it on Google Maps.  We need images to help tell the story!  Reading a report that I gather the surgeon may have already read does not constitute a tumor board.  

Residents, fellows, allied health care providers, physician extenders and other healthcare personnel and providers can learn from images as well as part of the patient’s diagnostic work-up and evaluation and ultimate treatment and management plan.

This of course, has changed dramatically for most institutions and will continue to change but pathologists need to be a part of the discussion and make sure we too can showcase our product, like radiology, to be relevant in tumor board discussions.