Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center The Pathology of Neoplastic Diseases 2026

The Pathology of Neoplastic Diseases 2026 – GI, GU & Thoracic Pathology Review

Full Course Description

The Pathology of Neoplastic Diseases 2026 is an advanced educational pathology program focused on selected high-yield areas of neoplastic disease, including genitourinary pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, and thoracic pathology.

Designed for practicing pathologists, pathology residents, and fellows, this course provides a practical review of modern diagnostic approaches to tumors and tumor-like lesions. The program emphasizes current classifications, difficult differential diagnoses, tumor staging, pathology reporting, immunohistochemistry, molecular testing, and the growing role of therapeutic and predictive biomarkers.

The course includes focused teaching on common diagnostic dilemmas in daily surgical pathology practice, including lung cancer diagnosis in small biopsies and cytology specimens, renal tumors with clear cytoplasm, prostate cancer grading and reporting, urothelial carcinoma risk stratification, pancreatic neoplasms, hepatocellular tumors, neuroendocrine neoplasms, mediastinal tumors, pleural tumors, and inherited renal tumor syndromes.

A major strength of this program is its integration of morphology with advanced diagnostic techniques. Learners will review the appropriate use of immunohistochemistry, molecular pathology, artificial intelligence applications, predictive biomarkers, and clinicopathologic correlation in modern cancer diagnosis.

Original Course Dates

April 27, 2026 – May 1, 2026

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, learners should be able to:

• Apply current classifications and diagnostic criteria for tumors and tumor-like lesions.
• Select appropriate ancillary diagnostic tools, including immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology.
• Recognize important differential diagnoses and diagnostic pitfalls in neoplastic pathology.
• Interpret key clinicopathologic features of gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and thoracic tumors.
• Understand the role of predictive and therapeutic biomarkers in cancer pathology.
• Improve reporting approaches for selected neoplastic diseases.

Who Should Study This Course?

This course is suitable for:

• Academic pathologists
• Private-practice pathologists
• Surgical pathologists
• Pathology residents
• Pathology fellows
• Physicians interested in diagnostic oncology and tumor pathology

Main Topics Included

Genitourinary Pathology

• History and future directions of genitourinary pathology
• Artificial intelligence in genitourinary pathology
• Atypical intraductal proliferations of the prostate
• Challenging GU pathology cases
• Molecular testing in genitourinary neoplasms
• Renal cell carcinoma with clear cytoplasm: pitfalls and mimickers
• Prostate cancer grading and needle core biopsy reporting
• Advanced prostate cancer pathology reporting
• Predictive and prognostic biomarkers in urothelial carcinoma
• Hereditary renal cancer syndromes
• Risk stratification in non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma
• Penile cancer: HPV-associated and HPV-independent tumors
• Adult adrenal gland diagnostic pathology updates

Gastrointestinal and Hepatopancreatobiliary Pathology

• Anal tumors and AJCC 9 staging updates
• Appendiceal tumors and mucinous lesions
• GI tumor biomarkers
• Pancreatobiliary cystic and intraductal neoplasms
• Cytology of cystic pancreatic neoplasms
• Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma diagnostic strategies
• Hepatocellular tumors
• Mesenchymal tumors of the GI tract
• GI neuroendocrine neoplasms
• Pancreatic solid tumors
• Upper GI tract neoplasms
• Colorectal cancer staging challenges and emerging updates

Thoracic Pathology

• Frozen section diagnosis in lung cancer
• Lung cancer diagnosis in small biopsies and cytology
• Non-small cell lung cancer differential diagnosis
• Molecular pathology of lung cancer
• Predictive biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer
• WHO classification updates in lung cancer
• Mediastinal tumors
• Pleural tumors
• Neuroendocrine tumors of the lung
• Thoracic pathology pitfalls and differential diagnoses
• Unusual tumors of the lung
• Molecular solutions for thoracic diagnostic challenges

Additional Areas

• Neuroblastoma pathology reporting and clinical implications
• Q&A sessions and case-based discussions
• Practical pathology reporting challenges
• Molecular and biomarker-driven cancer diagnostics

Why This Course Is Valuable

This pathology review is especially useful for clinicians and trainees who want a structured update on practical tumor diagnosis across GI, GU, and thoracic pathology. It combines morphology, staging, molecular testing, biomarker evaluation, reporting issues, and case-based differentials in one focused program.

The content is relevant to day-to-day diagnostic pathology practice and may help strengthen confidence when approaching difficult tumor classifications, limited biopsy specimens, unusual morphologic findings, and molecularly complex cancers.