Pathology second opinion

Pathology second opinion may be helpful in both malignant and benign conditions.

An outside review of tissue samples removed either as biopsies or as resections is an opportunity to get a more accurate miscroscopic evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of the tissue histology and immunohistochemistry. Very often patients need it if the original pathology report is not straightforward and a more definitive conclusion should be obtained.

Outside pathology expert advice is usually sought in challenging cases. Those include rare diseases, when special expertise is required to make a correct interpretation of a lesion, distinguish it from look-alikes, and make correct conclusions from understanding its true identity.

Confirmed or suspected malignant conditions also present a vast area of pathology second opinion application. Sometimes differences between cancer and normal cells are so subtle that a second set of eyes is necessary to tell benign mimickers of a malignancy or pre-cancerous conditions from a life-threatening disease. Moreover, some cancers (e.g. lymphatic) are more difficult to diagnose than others, so it is advisable that a pathologist devoted exclusively to this or that particular type is called in to avoid a mistake. There are cases when biopsy specimens are sent to another lab because the original pathology site does not have the necessary technical tools to perform certain advanced tests to examine biochemical and genetic tissue properties.

Depending on the situation, review of the initial biopsy findings will involve evaluation of slides made in the initial pathology facility (including digital slides) or examination of original tissue samples.