Surgical pathology examination of lymph nodes. Practice survey by American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

Abstract

The American Society of Clinical Pathologists surveyed 363 pathologists to determine practices used in processing and reporting lymph node specimens submitted for surgical pathology examination. This topic is of interest because lymph nodes are some of the more common organs biopsied for diagnostic purposes and the constant change in and diversity of classification systems in the past 30 years. The definition of newly recognized entities and the use of sophisticated diagnostic tools also have made it difficult for there to be a solid consensus of pathologists in diagnosing lymphoproliferative disorders for correlation with clinical behavior and response to therapy. The survey, conducted in November 1992, contained 79 questions. Participants were selected to represent a variety of practice settings and 179 (49%) responses were received.