This inaugural co-branded interactive microscopy course presents the synergistic union of expert surgical pathologists from the prestigious Arthur Purdy Stout Society and from USCAP, collaborating (through education of pathologists) to eliminate a variety of practice gaps in diagnostic surgical pathology. For example, there is a misdiagnosis rate of about 10% in breast biopsies, but for some notoriously problematic lesions, the rate is even higher.

A review of the literature and the collective clinical experience of this faculty as consultant surgical pathologists have clearly documented areas in diagnostic surgical pathology that remain problematic even for experienced pathologists. Examples include the categorization of proliferative breast lesions, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, small glandular proliferations in the prostate, and soft tissue lesions. With the frequent use of core needle biopsy, pathologists are often faced with the challenge of distinguishing these entities on small specimen samples.

The value of this course is its intent to eliminate diagnostic errors by highlighting pitfalls and approaches to resolve them using routine microscopic examination of H&E-stained sections and immuno-stains. The role of newer adjunctive molecular tests will also be discussed where appropriate. Thus, this course addresses medical knowledge and competence with the goal of improving clinical practice.

Course Location: Palm Springs, CA
Course Director: Laura C. Collins, M.D.

The diagnosis of soft tissue tumors can be a significant challenge (even for experienced pathologists) because of their rarity, the broad morphological spectrum of mesenchymal tumors, and overlap with other soft tissue tumors and non-mesenchymal neoplasms. The classification of soft tissue tumors continues to evolve, following the description of “new” tumor types, the discovery of novel molecular genetic alterations, and the development of increasingly specific diagnostic immunohistochemical markers. If your specialty interest is in soft tissue pathology, or if your practice requires enhanced competency in evaluating soft tissue lesions, this course is designed to familiarize you with recently-described soft tissue tumors and recently developed diagnostic markers.

Course Location: Palm Springs, CA
Course Director: Jason L. Hornick, M.D., FRCPath