COMPANION MEETINGS Society for Ultrastructural Pathology   Sunday, February 27, 2011 — 8:30 a.m., CC 008 A/B   The Interface of Pulmonary and Ultrastructural Pathology: Metals, Minerals, Molecules, and Morphology   Moderators: John M. Hicks, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX and David N. Howell, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC   Disclosure: In accordance with ACCME guidelines regarding disclosure, the USCAP policy requires that faculty members who have a significant financial or other relationship with a commercial company, entity, or service (which will be discussed in this Symposium) must disclose this to attendees. The Academy also requires that speakers disclose any products that are not labeled for the use under discussion. The speakers listed below have indicated they have nothing to disclose. Click the button above to add this event to your Itinerary Planner... 8:30 Ultrastructural Examination as an Adjunct to the Diagnosis of Adult Pulmonary Neoplasms - Thomas A. Sporn, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 9:15 Pediatric Pulmonary Neoplasia: Current Perspectives - John M. Hicks, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 10:00 Break 10:30 The Role of Fiber Analysis in Asbestos-Related Diseases: TEM vs. SEM. Is There a Controversy? - Elizabeth N. Pavlisko, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 11:00 Electron Microprobe Analysis in Metal-Induced Lung Disease - Victor L. Roggli, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 11:30 Ultrastructural Pathology of Pulmonary Corpora Amylacea - Samuel P. Hammar, Diagnostic Specialties Laboratory, Bremerton, WA As established diagnostic modalities (e.g., electron microscopy) mature and newer techniques (e.g., molecular diagnostics) evolve, it is critical to recognize both the strengths and the potential shortcomings of each method. As diagnosticians, investigators, and teachers, we have a natural tendency to emphasize the strengths of our diagnostic tools, sometimes overlooking the pitfalls. Recognizing the limitations of each technique is important in any diagnostic area, but is particularly crucial in a field like soft tissue tumor pathology, where many of the neoplasms are rare, recently described, and have confusing or overlapping histologic features. The 2011 Society for Ultrastructural Pathology USCAP Companion Meeting will provide an overview of pitfalls in the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors using ultrastructural, histologic, cytogenetic, and molecular diagnostic approaches. The multidisciplinary approach is designed to highlight complementarity of the different methods, including situations where relative weaknesses in one or more methods are compensated for by strengths of others. Electron microscopy and routine histology, for example, provide an "open view" of a vast range of tissue alterations, but are often incapable of identifying the molecular or biochemical abnormalities underlying the pathology. Molecular and cytogenetic techniques can probe the latter nuances, but require an a priori notion of what’s wrong to guide reagent selection. Objectives for the session include: 1) Provide an overview of the applications and pitfalls of ultrastructural pathology, surgical pathology, cytogenetics, and molecular diagnostic methods in the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors. 2) Probe the relative strengths and shortcomings of each technique, and identify areas of complementarity between them. 3) Identify a rational approach for the concerted use of the various techniques to solve a diagnostic problem.