Methodological Issues - Pathology/Biospecimen
This area of research studies the biologic factors associated with the development of cancer as well as the
influence of these factors on tumor progression. Learning more about the development and progression of disease
will help to speed cancer diagnosis, improve cancer care, and increase cancer survival.
RRSS investigators are conducting studies to:
- investigate the feasibility of developing a tissue repository to study first degree relative
pairs affected with the same cancer;
- determine whether pathology reports can replace slide reviews in epidemiologic studies of women with ductal
carcinoma in situ (DCIS) breast cancer;
- determine discrepancies between original pathology reports of diagnosed DCIS vs. reports reclassified by
three pathologists into sub-classifications;
- investigate methods to obtain archival paraffin tissue blocks for hospital pathology departments;
- identify new molecular markers that could be used to more precisely classify prostate cancer patients at
high risk of disease progression;
- focus on improving the surveillance of lymphoma subtypes;
- work to establish a tissue resource from cases in the Prostate
Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS).
Registries Funded to Conduct these Studies
Connecticut
Detroit (Metropolitan)
Hawaii
Iowa
Los Angeles
New Mexico
Northern California Cancer Center (SF-OAK)
Seattle (Puget Sound)
Utah
Key Findings
Researcher found they were able to obtain slides and tissue blocks for patients diagnosed with cancer provided
that confidentiality was maintained and the material was properly handled.
A study examining slides and pathology reports found that pathologists had difficulty agreeing on five key
DCIS variables from either the pathology report or from slides. These findings underscore the inherent difficulty
in assessing and communicating DCIS prognostic factors.
Future Use
Findings from these studies will be applied in establishing tissue repositories.
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