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Personalized cancer medicine and the future of pathology

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Abstract

In February 2011, a group of pathologists from different departments in Europe met in Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss opportunities and challenges for pathology in the era of personalized medicine. The major topics of the meeting were assessment of the role of pathology in personalized medicine, its future profile among other biomedical disciplines with an interest in personalized medicine as well as the evolution of companion diagnostics. The relevance of novel technologies for genome analysis in clinical practice was discussed. The participants recognize that there should be more initiatives taken by the pathology community in companion diagnostics and in the emerging field of next-generation sequencing and whole genome analysis. The common view of the participants was that the pathology community has to be mobilized for stronger engagement in the future of personalized medicine. Pathologists should be aware of the challenges and the analytical opportunities of the new technologies. Challenges of clinical trial design as well as insurance and reimbursement questions were addressed. The pathology community has the responsibility to lead medical colleagues into embracing this new area of genomic medicine. Without this effort, the discipline of pathology risks losing its key position in molecular tissue diagnostics.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mrs. B. Terrier for support in writing this article. The panel meeting of European pathologists held at the Institute of Surgical Pathology Zurich, Switzerland, was supported by Pfizer Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Surgical Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    H. Moch

  2. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    P. R. Blank

  3. Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Charité, Berlin, Germany

    M. Dietel

  4. Department of Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    G. Elmberger

  5. Department of Pathology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary & Aberdeen University Medical School, Fosterhill, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

    K. M. Kerr

  6. Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/Instituto de Investigacions Biomédicas (IBIS) Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    J. Palacios

  7. Department of Pathology, Centre Jean Perrin et Université d’Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand Cedex, France

    F. Penault-Llorca

  8. Section of Pathologic Anatomy, Azienda Policlinico di Modena, Modena, Italy

    G. Rossi

  9. European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    T. D. Szucs

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  1. H. Moch
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  2. P. R. Blank
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Correspondence to H. Moch.

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Moch, H., Blank, P.R., Dietel, M. et al. Personalized cancer medicine and the future of pathology. Virchows Arch 460, 3–8 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-011-1179-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-011-1179-6

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