Quality of Breast Cancer Surgical Pathology Reports

Abstract

Background: Surgical pathology reporting of breast cancer is needed for appropriate staging and treatment decisions.<br />We here checked the quality of surgical pathology reports of breast cancer from different laboratories of Karachi,<br />Pakistan. Methods: One hundred surgical pathology reports from ten different laboratories of Karachi were assessed<br />for documentation of elements against a checklist adopted from the CAP guideline over a period of six months from<br />January, 2017 to June, 2017 in the Oncology Department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi. Results: Out<br />of 100 reports, clinical information was documented in 68%, type of procedure and lymph node sampling in 84%<br />and 34% respectively. Specimen laterality was mentioned in 90%, tumor site in 44%, tumor size in 92%, focality in<br />40%, histological type in 96%, grade in 87%, LCIS in 19%, DCIS in 83%, size of DCIS in 19%, architectural pattern<br />in 26% , nuclear grade in 17%, necrosis in 14%, excision margin status in 91%, invasive component in 83%, DCIS in<br />16%, lymph node status in 91% with positive nodes in 56%, size of macro met in 54%, extranodal involvement in 48%,<br />lymph vascular invasion in 86%, treatment effects in 31%, and pathology reporting with TNM in 57%. Conclusion:<br />This study shows that the quality of surgical pathology reports for breast cancer in Karachi is not satisfactory. Therefore,<br />there is great need to create awareness among histopathologists regarding the importance of accurate breast cancer<br />surgical pathology reporting and to introduce a standardized checklist according to international guidelines for better<br />treatment planning.