On-site pathologic evaluation for lung cancer diagnosis

Congratulations are in order for my dear friend, Rich King and the team, for the study that looked at the use of on-site pathology evaluation in diagnosing lung cancer. The abstract is published in the Annals of Oncology. 

Access to biopsy services is a limiting factor to timely lung cancer diagnosis in many areas in the Philippines. On-site pathology evaluation allows for rapid diagnosis and helps ensure adequate specimen sampling. In our institution, its utilization and impact have not yet been evaluated.

By analyzing 112 pathology reports from 88 patients, King et al. had the following conclusions:

On-site pathologic evaluation was associated with an earlier lung cancer diagnosis, a reduced need for a repeat biopsy, and a higher proportion of patients eventually receiving treatment. Efforts should be undertaken to increase the utilization of this service in order to optimize the quality of care for these patients.