Interpreting genomic information for the clinical care of solid neoplasms

The pathologist will use genomic methods about their current role as diagnosticians and possibly in a new function related to preventive medicine. It is important to remember that with genomic testing, as with any laboratory testing, the same principles apply regarding issues with case-control studies, pre- and post-test probability and the need to validate. The main areas of development for the care of patients with solid neoplasms include: 1. Genomic-era technologies involve a) Typical roles of pathologists - Cancer diagnosis/prognosis/guide treatment b) New roles for pathologists - Predict disease risk - Predict drug response c) Conceptual basis - Role of inflammation and grading - Tumor progression and microenvironment - Cancer as a genomic disease All these aspects are components of another test available for the management of cancer patients and have to deal with issues like: - case-control studies - pre- and post-test probability - accurate assessment of pre-test probability - the need of validation