This month’s articles highlight the productive working relationships amongst the different disciplines of pathology. For example, Chemical and Anatomical Pathologists often work as a team to diagnose and monitor kidney disease, while Anatomical and Molecular Pathologists work cooperatively to identify cancer biomarkers.

Productive relationships also involve Governments and Pathologists working together to deliver the best outcomes for patients. One example of this process in action is the approval for the first three pathology biomarker tests for solid cancers to be placed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule soon. To do these tests, Pathologists must retrieve archived tissue samples for reanalysis; this extra work is currently unremunerated!

And finally, this edition includes an article from last month’s Pathology Update Conference which highlights the importance of Haematologists and surgeons working together towards bloodless surgery.

We welcome your feedback about the stories covered in ePathWay, and hope you find it an invaluable way of being kept up to date about pathology in Australasia.

Diagnosing kidney disease takes significant expertise, especially when a person can lose up to 90 percent of their kidney function before they experience any symptoms. The rising incidence of obesity and diabetes, which are major risk factors, is also impacting on the rates of kidney disease.

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Targeted therapy is revolutionising cancer management, and the good news is the first three pathology biomarkers tests for solid cancers – HER2, KRAS and EGFR¹ - have been approved to be placed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). According to Associate Professor Adrienne Morey, Director of Anatomical Pathology at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, this represents a huge paradigm shift by the government, and there are more tests in the pipeline.

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The winds of change are blowing through diagnostic and treatment practices of the past thanks to the genetic revolution. Vast collections of tissue samples, which were once used to diagnose cancer and other diseases before being permanently archived, are being requested again by medical practitioners and reanalysed by pathologists as molecular testing and targeted therapy becomes a reality. This is great news for patients who are benefiting from this new technology, but not for the pathology laboratories. They are required to do this work for free which is putting a strain on their already lean operations.

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What on earth is patient blood management for surgery? Well, it’s having surgery using blood products only when absolutely necessary, and there is growing evidence that this approach improves patient outcomes. Aiming to avoid using blood products in surgery is a key component of Patient Blood Management programs which advocate a ‘less is more approach’ when it comes to having a blood transfusion.

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