First UK Bi-Annual Endocrine Pathology Society/RCPath Endocrine Pathology Update

lisette martin

sheffield

At the beginning of February I attended the First Bi-Annual UK Endocrine Pathology Society/Royal College of Pathologists Endocrine Pathology Update, which was held at the beautifully refurbished Royal College of General Practitioners, London.

After seeing an unexpected number of friendly faces over coffee (with a good turnout by Oral Pathologists!) the event got underway starting with much appreciated recap of normal thyroid histology and immunohistochemistry. The following talks covered molecular mechanisms of thyroid tumours and pathological indicators of thyroid cancer prognosis by two internationally renowned endocrine pathologists – Professor Manuel Sobinho-Simoes (Porto) and Dr Ronal Ghossein (New York). Clearly long-standing colleagues, it was interesting to hear their different, and often conflicting views throughout the meeting.

The main session covered changes to the 2017 WHO classification, in particular, inclusion of the new entity – the non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and how this might affect thyroid cytology criteria – a big concern amongst the audience of endocrine cytologists!

The afternoon session was just as crammed full of interesting cases and talks including presentations from clinical oncologist Dr Kate Newbold as well as medicolegal pitfalls in thyroid pathology and recent developments in adrenal and parathyroid tumours.

Day two primarily focused on panel discussions of submitted cases. Debate and discussion around the cases was lively, and the expert input was fascinating, especially in terms of treatment differences between European and US colleagues.

The event was a great success with world-class speakers, diverse topics and excellent learning opportunities. In terms of clinical utility, relevance and education value, this is certainly one of the best conferences I have been to and I look forward to the next meeting!