This course will address common but difficult problems that arise in the diagnosis of both medical and neoplastic diseases of the liver, as determined by the types of cases that are reviewed in a consultation practice. We have selected this emphasis as these topics represent possible "missed" lesions or gaps in knowledge base of liver pathology. Our aim is to discuss these common problem areas in enough detail to assist the practicing pathologist in future evaluation of these types of lesions.

The format of the course will be based on cases that can be previewed prior to the meeting on the USCAP website. A comprehensive syllabus with reference lists will be provided at the meeting, and a CD of the course materials (excluding any copyrighted materials or images used in the live presentations) will be mailed to all after the meeting. The course will be directed at the general pathologist and trainees in pathology, including trainees in liver/gastrointestinal fellowships.

The course will discuss acute hepatitis and problems in chronic hepatitis including grading and staging of chronic hepatitis, review the differential diagnosis of near normal biopsy, provide an update on steatohepatitis, and significant problems in tumor diagnosis, including use of immunohistochemistry.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to 1) recognize the characteristic changes of acute and chronic hepatitis and the differential diagnosis, 2) obtain information on grading and staging of chronic hepatitis, 3) know the criteria for the diagnosis of steatohepatitis, 4) generate a differential diagnosis for biopsies with minimal changes and recognize histological features of venous outflow obstruction and systemic disorders in the liver, 5) understand the problems in the diagnosis of well-differentiated hepatocellular tumors, and 6) obtain updates on the role of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of problem liver tumors.

This course may be used for CME credits or SAM's credits.