Objective: The article reports on Addenbrooke’s Hospital’s use of rapid whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for children suspected of having cancer and discusses how
In a study at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, rapid whole-genome sequencing reduced mean diagnostic turnaround time for children suspected of cancer from 42 days to 3 days.
The NHS currently offers whole-genome sequencing to people aged 0 to 25 years who are suspected of having cancer, with a mean end-to-end turnaround of 42 days.
Earlier genomic results can inform initial treatment decisions, potentially directing children to targeted treatments or clinical trials and helping avoid some harmful treatments.
In the study cohort, rapid whole-genome sequencing was associated with access to precision medicines, less invasive surgery, reduced chemotherapy use, and noncancer diagnoses in some cases.
NHS England plans to roll out rapid whole-genome sequencing across England over 2 years through the Pediatric Cancer Genomic Network of Excellence and NHS Genomic Medicine Service laboratories.
Objective: To describe disease stage, symptoms, tumor characteristics, recurrence, and outcomes among patients aged 21 or younger diagnosed with colorectal canc
Objective: Assess whether CAR T cell product characteristics are associated with outcomes in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Approach: Primary analysis: Res
In 580 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with axi-cel, a higher proportion of CCR7- and CD45RA-positive naive-like T cells was associated with longer progression-free survival.
Patients in the highest naive-like T-cell group had a 54% lower relative hazard of progression or death and a higher ongoing response rate than those in the lowest group (59.3% vs 29.2%).
The association persisted after adjustment for prognostic factors and was validated in an independent cohort of 203 patients treated with axi-cel-based therapies or brexucabtagene autoleucel.
More prior lines of therapy were associated with fewer naive-like T cells in both starting material and final CAR T-cell products, but final-product proportions were more strongly associated with outc
The findings are associative, not causal, and may not generalize beyond the CD28-based CAR T products studied in patients with lymphoma.
Objective: Argue that pathology explanation clinics—where pathologists discuss findings directly with patients—deserve recognition as part of pathology’s ongoin
Pathology explanation clinics let pathologists discuss patients’ tissue findings and digitized slides directly with patients in plain language.
The author describes a pathologist’s explanation of their own slide as changing how they understood their diagnosis.
Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, Tufts Medical, Endeavor Health, and Michigan Medicine are among institutions with pathology explanation clinics.
The article says direct explanations can help patients understand their reports and reduce the burden on ordering physicians to interpret technical findings.
The author argues that patient clinics make pathologists more visible as clinicians and can strengthen patient satisfaction, institutional loyalty, and pathologists’ sense of purpose.
Two phase 3 trials randomized 1,399 patients aged 12 to under 64 years with severe alopecia areata to upadacitinib 15 mg, 30 mg, or placebo for 24 weeks.
At week 24, 45% of patients receiving 15 mg and 54% to 55% receiving 30 mg achieved a SALT score of 20 or less, compared with 2% to 3% receiving placebo.
Complete scalp hair regrowth at week 24 occurred in 13% to 14% of patients receiving 15 mg and 20% to 23% receiving 30 mg, versus 0% to 1% receiving placebo.
Upadacitinib also improved eyebrow and eyelash regrowth, patient-reported disease status, symptoms, daily activity interference, and quality-of-life measures.
During 24 weeks, adverse events occurred in 63% of patients receiving 15 mg, 67% receiving 30 mg, and 57% receiving placebo; no new safety signals or deaths were reported.
Objective: To compare pathologist review time and diagnostic performance with standard digital pathology versus AI-assisted digital pathology for breast biopsie
In the retrospective, single-center CASCADE study, 2 pathologists reviewed 194 breast biopsy cases using standard digital pathology and AI-assisted digital pathology.
Mean review time decreased from 71.12 seconds with standard digital pathology to 40.18 seconds with AI assistance, a 44% reduction.
Cancer diagnostic agreement was 97% with standard digital pathology and 99% with AI assistance; sensitivity was 98% and 100%, respectively.
For DCIS, agreement increased from 93% to 99% and sensitivity from 86% to 100%, but the subgroup included only 21 positive cases.
AI-guided IHC preordering was estimated to reduce turnaround time by about 2.5 days for applicable true-positive cases, but this modeled reduction requires prospective evaluation.
Objective: The article examines the objective, findings, and clinical context described in Multidisciplinary Clinic Offers a New Model for Complex AFib Care. Ap
Keck Medicine of USC opened a multidisciplinary atrial fibrillation clinic in Pasadena for patients with complex, longstanding persistent AFib.
The clinic combines cardiac electrophysiologists, cardiac surgeons, and a nurse practitioner to assess patients and develop individualized treatment plans.
For longstanding persistent AFib, endocardial treatments alone may be less successful than a hybrid approach that also uses minimally invasive epicardial techniques.
The clinic offers convergent maze and totally thoracoscopic maze procedures with left atrial appendage exclusion, followed by electrophysiologic evaluation.
The clinic also provides long-term rhythm monitoring, risk-factor modification, and management of comorbidities such as heart failure and valvular disease.
Objective: To review pediatric reference data for corneal thickness, curvature, and diameter, including demographic variation, geographic representation, and me
The review included 28 studies of more than 46,000 healthy children younger than 18 years, published from January 2000 through December 2024.
Central corneal thickness, curvature, and diameter generally remained relatively stable after early childhood, but age- and sex-related findings varied across studies.
Studies generally reported thinner corneas among Black children than White children, while findings across other racial and ethnic groups varied.
Geographic representation was uneven: 17 of 28 studies were conducted in Asia, and only 2 were conducted in Africa.
Differences in measurement technologies, reporting practices, and study populations limited comparisons and the generalizability of pediatric corneal reference values.
Researchers analyzed 8 waves of nationally representative US data on adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from October 2014 through December 2024.
Among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years, established vaping prevalence rose among girls from 4.9% in 2021 to 7.8% in 2024, while boys’ prevalence remained near 4.2% to 4.6%.
In 2024, established vaping prevalence among adolescents aged 12 to 14 years was 1.5% among girls and 1.1% among boys.
Established combustible cigarette smoking prevalence declined from 1.6% in 2014 to 2015 to 0.2% in 2024.
The repeated cross-sectional design, self-reported nicotine use, and focus on established use limited conclusions about individual trajectories, causes, and experimentation.
Objective: Announce Dr. Erin Gillaspie’s appointment as chief of thoracic surgery and summarize her professional background and research interests. Approach: Ap
Mohamed Abdelmonem and Marion Carrillo preview 2 interactive round tables at the ASCP Annual Meeting in November in Montréal.
One round table will discuss how ASCP can make global membership more valuable, accessible, and relevant to international members.
Speakers cite finances, education access, language, technology, professional recognition, local regulations, and health care system differences as participation barriers.
The mentorship discussion will address cultural responsiveness, language, professional expectations, career pathways, and differences in laboratory medicine across countries.
The sessions will use discussion, real-world examples, audience polling, and open dialogue to identify challenges and develop practical solutions.
Objective: To identify blood metabolites associated with future cardiac disease progression in people with chronic Chagas disease. Approach: Study samples: Rese
Chagas disease can remain asymptomatic for decades, but 20% to 30% of chronically infected people develop clinically significant cardiac disease.
Researchers analyzed stored serum samples from 72 patients with chronic Chagas disease in Bolivia using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.
Among patients initially without cardiac involvement, 15 developed more advanced disease during follow-up, while 48 remained stable.
Eight metabolites were associated with future progression, and 10 of 45 candidate biomarker panels achieved at least 60% sensitivity and 90% specificity.
The biomarkers require validation in larger, geographically diverse studies, standardized testing methods, and evidence of clinical utility before routine use.
Researchers coated a three-dimensional nanotubular copper current collector with an approximately 10-nm layer of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene for anode-free lithium-metal batteries.
The MXene coating interacted with electrolyte hexafluorophosphate anions and promoted uniform lithium nucleation and a lithium fluoride-rich solid-electrolyte interphase.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy characterized the interface and showed lithium fluoride nanoparticles along the M
In lean-electrolyte coin cells with NCM811 cathodes, modified collectors retained 78.1 mAh/g at cycle 125, compared with 44.9 mAh/g for unmodified copper.
At cycle 125, Coulombic efficiency was 99.06% with the modified collector and 95.01% with unmodified copper; larger-format testing remains necessary to assess commercial performance.
Objective: Assess whether atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe mass spectrometry (ASAP-MS) can rapidly screen surfaces for illicit drug residues, compared
Researchers collected 420 surface swabs over 3 weeks from bathrooms, tables, and a bar in an anonymous pub in southern England.
Confirmatory LC-MS detected cocaine in 250 swabs and ketamine in 70; 64 swabs contained both substances.
Direct, untargeted ASAP-MS rapidly screened swabs but mainly detected samples with relatively high cocaine levels and missed many residues found by LC-MS.
Methanol extraction with targeted ASAP-MS increased sensitivity, but the method still missed 59.51% of cocaine-positive and 88.57% of ketamine-positive samples identified by LC-MS.
ASAP-MS produced 15 false-positive results, including apparent ketamine signals linked to procaine, and the researchers said further optimization is needed before routine on-site screening.
Objective: To estimate how often adults with likely long COVID improve or achieve complete symptom resolution over time. Approach: Study design: Prospective obs
In the RECOVER-Adult cohort, 50% of adults with likely long COVID at 12 months had sustained improvement by 36 months.
Complete symptom resolution was estimated in 15% of participants by 24 months and 27% by 36 months.
By 36 months, sustained improvement ranged from 60% among participants with smell or taste disturbances to 19% among those with multisystem symptoms.
Improvement probabilities were higher among participants infected during the Omicron period than among those infected before Omicron, and were similar by sex.
The observational study could not establish causality, and its primary outcome reflected improvement below the likely long COVID threshold rather than complete recovery.