Molecular Oncology Diagnostic Pathology Textbook

Read the Tissue and the Genome Together, Then Report What Matters

This 2026-2027 reference teaches anatomic pathology residents, molecular genetic pathology fellows, and laboratory directors how to move from a slide to an actionable cancer diagnosis. It follows a specimen from fixation and nucleic acid extraction through immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, PCR, and next-generation sequencing, then into variant classification and the organ-by-organ biomarker panels that drive therapy in lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, hematologic, sarcoma, brain, and thyroid tumors. Every explanation begins with mechanism.

You finish each chapter knowing which test to run on a limited biopsy, how to read the result, and how to word the report so the treating team can act on it.

Inside, you will learn to:

Preanalytic control of cold ischemia, formalin fixation, and decalcification - protect DNA and RNA quality and decide when to rescue or reject a specimen

HER2, PD-L1, and mismatch repair immunostains with chromogenic, fluorescence, and silver in situ hybridization - score accurately and resolve discordant results

Karyotype, FISH, RT-PCR, digital PCR, and NGS panel strategy, including RNA fusion detection - match the assay to the alteration you need to find

AMP/ASCO/CAP tiers and oncogenicity standards - classify somatic variants and handle variants of uncertain significance and incidental germline findings in the report

Tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, and homologous recombination deficiency - interpret immunotherapy and PARP inhibitor biomarkers and avoid their common pitfalls

Circulating tumor DNA and minimal residual disease - separate true tumor signal from clonal hematopoiesis and select the right monitoring assay

Actionable-driver algorithms for EGFR, ALK, ROS1, RET, KRAS, BRAF, HER2, and DNA repair genes - order the correct panel on the first biopsy

WHO 5th edition and ICC 2022 classification of myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms, sarcomas, and CNS tumors - integrate fusion, mutation, and methylation findings into the final diagnosis

Add this edition to your sign-out desk and turn every biopsy into a complete, actionable diagnosis.