TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality Assessment of Gallbladder Cancer Pathology Reports
T2 - A Dutch Nationwide Study
AU - de Bitter, Tessa J J
AU - de Savornin-Lohman, Elise A J
AU - de Reuver, Philip R
AU - Versteeg, Valerie Sophie
AU - Vink-Börger, Elisa
AU - Verheij, Joanne
AU - Nagtegaal, Iris D
AU - van der Post, Rachel S
N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by Foundation ADP. The views expressed in the submitted article are of the authors’ own and not an official position of the institution or funder. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses /by/4.0/).
PY - 2021/6/14
Y1 - 2021/6/14
N2 - Adequate reporting of pathological findings is essential for optimal patient management and to perform high-quality research. The aim of this study was to assess the completeness of pathology reports of gallbladder cancer (GBC) at the nationwide level to assess guideline adherence and make recommendations for improvement. A retrospective population-based cohort of GBC patients diagnosed in the Netherlands from 2000 to 2019 was collected using data from the Dutch Cancer Registry and the nationwide network and registry of histology. Pathology reports were scored on the presence and content of essential and optional items according to the Dutch consensus-based guideline on biliary tract cancer. By histopathological review of cases, we compared findings with the conclusion of the corresponding pathology report. All pathology reports (n = 849) had a narrative, nonstructured format. Overall completeness was low. Information on key prognostic factors, such as tumor side (hepatic vs. serosal), status of cystic duct and liver surgical margins and venous and perineural invasion, was frequently lacking (80%, 23%, 59%, 74% and 74% missing, respectively). Whereas certain items were often missing from the report, they could be retrospectively detected in a substantial proportion of cases during pathology review (n = 738). In conclusion, significant improvements could be made in the reporting of GBC in the Netherlands. Synoptic reporting could greatly enhance the completeness of reports, as already demonstrated for tumor types.
AB - Adequate reporting of pathological findings is essential for optimal patient management and to perform high-quality research. The aim of this study was to assess the completeness of pathology reports of gallbladder cancer (GBC) at the nationwide level to assess guideline adherence and make recommendations for improvement. A retrospective population-based cohort of GBC patients diagnosed in the Netherlands from 2000 to 2019 was collected using data from the Dutch Cancer Registry and the nationwide network and registry of histology. Pathology reports were scored on the presence and content of essential and optional items according to the Dutch consensus-based guideline on biliary tract cancer. By histopathological review of cases, we compared findings with the conclusion of the corresponding pathology report. All pathology reports (n = 849) had a narrative, nonstructured format. Overall completeness was low. Information on key prognostic factors, such as tumor side (hepatic vs. serosal), status of cystic duct and liver surgical margins and venous and perineural invasion, was frequently lacking (80%, 23%, 59%, 74% and 74% missing, respectively). Whereas certain items were often missing from the report, they could be retrospectively detected in a substantial proportion of cases during pathology review (n = 738). In conclusion, significant improvements could be made in the reporting of GBC in the Netherlands. Synoptic reporting could greatly enhance the completeness of reports, as already demonstrated for tumor types.
KW - Completeness
KW - Narrative
KW - Pathology report
KW - Surgical pathology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107749524&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/cancers13122977
DO - 10.3390/cancers13122977
M3 - Article
C2 - 34198644
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 13
JO - Cancers
JF - Cancers
IS - 12
M1 - 2977
ER -