Pathology reporting of gastric endoscopic resections: Recommendations from the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting

Endoscopic resection (ER) has recently become an increasingly common treatment for early gastric cancer, despite being a relatively new approach in non-East-Asian countries. Consistent, generalized data are needed for implementation of evidence-based clinical practice in the field. Iris Nagtegaal, theme Tumours of the digestive tract, and colleagues published this research project in Gastroenterology.

Complete and accurate reporting of pathologic findings in ER specimens is extremely important in guiding follow-up management and surveillance. In addition, structured pathology reporting of ER specimens and inclusion of all clinically relevant information can help achieve the goal of implementing global best practice. 

Datasets or checklists for pathology reporting of gastric carcinoma resections have been independently developed by several organizations across the world; however, a dataset specifically designed for early gastric carcinoma ER specimens has not been previously available. The aim of the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR) was to produce an evidence-based international pathology reporting dataset for ER of early gastric cancers. The development of a separate ER dataset will ensure comprehensive information acquisition and allow for more efficient updating. 

The dataset is freely available from the ICCR website

Conclusion

ER for early gastric cancer is a relatively new approach. The ICCR is the first organization to publish an evidence-based dataset for the pathology reporting of ER for early gastric cancer, which is freely available from the ICCR website. With increasing global uptake and ever more well-designed clinical studies underway, pathology reporting of early gastric cancer in ER specimens is an evolving field. A structured approach to reporting of ER of early gastric cancer dataset by pathologists worldwide will help ensure all of the necessary information for patient management is captured and allow for comparison of data between countries.

After the release of the 5^th edition of the World Health Organisation Classification of Tumors of the Digestive System, the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting has translated this information into datasets or checklists for pathology reporting. For the first time, we have developed datasets for local excision of colorectal cancer, oesohageal cancer, gastric cancer, all of which are published in Gastroenterology. Iris Nagtegaal, chaired the international collaborative effort.