Armando Filie, MD
Entry Id: TP-53

Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must be licensed to practice medicine in the United States and certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic pathology.

Overview
The Cytopathology Section of the National Cancer Institute provides diagnostic cytolopathology services for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its associated clinical services in the Clinical Center, a 250-bed research hospital. The relatively high frequency of pathologic findings combined with the diversity of types of exfoliative and FNA specimens seen in our department provide a broad experience in diagnostic cytopathology. The goals of the fellowship are to develop a strong foundation in diagnostic cytopathology through service responsibilities and to introduce clinically oriented physicians to current research techniques.

Structure of the Clinical Training Program
The Fellowship program is 12 months in duration. Fellows are assigned to the cytology diagnostic service approximately seventy-five percent (75%) of the time. While on service, the Fellow is the pathologist of record on all accessioned cases and is responsible for performing FNAs. A staff pathologist is available for back-up and consultation at all times. Daily working conferences which all staff members attend are an integral component of the training. The section accessions approximately 3,800 specimens per year. Eighty percent (80%) of our case load is extra-vaginal including: twenty percent (20%) pulmonary, twenty (20%) urine, fifteen percent (15%) body cavity fluids, twenty percent (20%) fine needle aspirates and five percent (5%) miscellaneous. The Fellow will also rotate for one month each through the Cytopathology Sections of the National Naval Medical Center, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. The emphasis during these two months is on cervical vaginal cytology. There is an active immunocytochemistry service utilized for diagnostic and research purposes. Completion of the program qualifies the candidate for the cytopathology special qualification board exam.

• Andrea Abati, MD
• Armando Filie, MD

Examples of Papers Authored by Program Faculty

• Abati, A.: To count or not to count? A review of the issue of adequacy in breast FNA. (Review Article) Diagnostic Cytopathology 1999 Aug; 21 (2): 142-7.
• Abati A., Sanjuan S., Wilder A. M., Linehan M. W., Hewitt S. M., Merino M.: Utilization of microdissection and the polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of adrenal cortical carcinoma in fine needle aspiration cytology. Cancer Cytopathology 1999 Aug; 87 (4) 231-237.
• Abati A., Merino M.: Loss of heterozygosity analysis to diagnose adrenal cortical carcinoma: are we there yet?-reply. Cancer. 1999 Aug 25; 87 (4): 176-7.
• Filie A., Chiesa A., Bryant B., Abati A., Merino M. J.: Detection of loss of heterozygosity of 1p and p53 in thyroid papillary carcinoma. Cancer Cytopathology 1999 Aug; 87 (4): 238-242.
• Filie A., Copeland C., Wilder A., Abati A.: Individual specimen triage of effusion samples; an improvement in the standard of practice or a waste of resources? Diagnostic Cytopathology 2000; 22: 7-10.
• P. A. Fletsch, Cowan K., Weng D., Filie A., Abati A.: Detection of circulating tumor cells and micrometastases in stage III and IV breast cancer patients utilizing cytology and immunocytochemistry. Diagnostic Cytopathology 2000; 22: 323-328.
• P.A. Fetsch, A. I. Riker, F. M. Marincola, A. Abati: Tyrosinase Immunoreactivity in Fine Needle Aspiration Samples of metastatic Malignant Melanoma: Fixation Methods Yield Variable Results. Cancer Cytopathology 2000; 90: 252-7.
• Simsir A, Fetsch P, Abati A: Calretinin Immunostaining in Benign and Malignant Effusions. Diagnostic Cytopathology 2001 24 (2); 149-151.
• Vezza P.R., Wilder A. M., Filie A., Holland S., Mallech, H., A. Abati: The Detection of Infectious Organisms in the Pulmonary Cytologic Samples in Chronic Granulomatous Disease. (Letter) Diagnostic Cytopathology 2001 24 (3); 226-227.
• Simsir A., Palacious D., Linehan M. L., Merino M., Abati A.: Detection of loss of heterozygosity for the vonHippel-Lindau gene locus in primary and metastatic ovarian clear cell carcinoma: utilization of microdissection and the polymerase chain reaction in archival cytologic and histologic material. 2001 24 (5); 328-332 Diagnostic Cytopathology
• Fetsch P. A., Simsir A., Abati A.: Comparison of Antibodies to HBME-1 and Calretinin For the Detection of Mesothelial Cells in Effusion Cytology. (In Press) Diagnostic Cytopathology
• Fetsch P.A., Filie A. C., Abati A.: A Comparison of Antibodies to MART-1 and Melan A in Fine Needle Aspiration Samples of Metastatic Malignant Melanoma. (Letter) (In Press) Diagnostic Cytopathology.
• A.C. Filie, A. Simsir, P. Fetsch, A. Abati: Metastatic malignant melanoma (MMM) to the breast: diagnostic utility of FNA in combination with immunocytochemistry (ICC) for diagnosis. (In Press) Acta Cytologica.
• B. Clark, P. Vezza, A. Abati. Diagnostic Sensitivity of Pulmonary FNA vs. BAL. (In Press) Modern Pathology.
• Fetsch P. A., Brosky K., Simsir A., Abati A. Optimal Utilization of Immunocytochemistry in Effusion Cytology-A Contemporary Review. (In Press) Cancer Cytopathology.
• Filie A., Wilder A., Brosky K., Kopp J., Arora K., Abati A.: Urinary cytology associated with human BK virus and indinavir in HIV positive patients: A study of 155 cases. (Submitted 2/01) Modern Pathology.

Program Graduates
Recent program graduates, including their current positions, are listed below:

• Layla Dahmoush Alexandria University Medical School, Alexandria, Egypt, 2000-2001, University of Iowa Medical Center, Iowa City, IA
• Phyllis Vezza, George Washington University Medical School, 1999-2000, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, North Providence, RI
• Don Moses, School of Medicine-Louisiana State University, 1998-1999, Shreveport, LA, Parkview Regional Medical Center, Vicksburg, MS
• Aylin Simsir, Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey, 1997-1998, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY

A single fellowship position, which is a one year combined service and research appointment, is available. Candidates must be licensed physicians and board certified in anatomic pathology. Our program is recognized by the American Board of Pathology as satisfying training requirements necessary to qualify for the examination for added qualification in cytopathology.

Electronic Application
The quickest and easiest way to find out more about this training program or to apply for consideration is to do it electronically.