Receiving a pathology report is rarely the end of the process. For most patients, the report is the starting point — the document that confirms a diagnosis and sets everything else in motion. Understanding what happens next, who is involved, and how the information in your report is used to guide your care can help …
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Myeloproliferative neoplasms are a group of blood cancers in which the bone marrow — the soft tissue inside bones that makes blood cells — produces too many of one or more types of blood cells. Unlike cancers, where cells multiply rapidly and stop functioning, the cells in myeloproliferative neoplasms usually look and work relatively normally …
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If your blood test or bone marrow report mentions BCR::ABL1 or the Philadelphia chromosome, these refer to the same genetic change — a mistake in the DNA of a blood-forming cell that causes it to produce a new, abnormal protein. That protein drives the uncontrolled growth of white blood cells seen in chronic myeloid leukemia …
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If your pathology report or molecular test results mention a RAS mutation — most commonly NRAS, HRAS, or KRAS — this refers to a change in one of three closely related genes that help control how thyroid cells grow and divide. RAS mutations are among the most common molecular findings in thyroid cancer and in …
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A POLE mutation is one of the most important findings a pathologist can report in an endometrial cancer — not because it signals danger, but because it signals the opposite. Endometrial cancers with a pathogenic POLE mutation belong to the molecular group with the best prognosis of all four endometrial cancer subtypes. These cancers rarely …
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A BRAF mutation is found in approximately 8 to 12% of colorectal cancers and identifies a biologically distinct subtype of the disease with its own treatment implications. The great majority of BRAF mutations in colorectal cancer are a specific change called V600E. This mutation carries two important clinical consequences: it predicts that standard anti-EGFR targeted …
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BRAF is a gene that encodes a protein kinase — an enzyme that acts as a relay in a signalling chain called the MAPK pathway, which controls cell growth and division. In normal cells, BRAF passes signals from activated surface receptors (including RAS proteins) downstream to the rest of the cell in a tightly regulated …
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RET is a gene that encodes a receptor protein involved in signalling pathways that regulate cell growth, survival, and differentiation during normal development. In healthy adult lung tissue, RET activity is minimal. In approximately 1–2% of non-small cell lung cancers, a chromosomal rearrangement fuses the RET gene to a partner gene, creating an abnormal fusion …
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MET (also called c-MET or HGFR — hepatocyte growth factor receptor) is a protein found on the surface of cells that receives signals from a molecule called hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). When HGF binds to MET, it activates signalling pathways that promote cell growth, survival, and movement — processes that are tightly regulated in normal …
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ROS1 is a gene that encodes a receptor protein involved in signalling pathways that regulate cell growth and survival. In healthy adult lung tissue, ROS1 is essentially inactive. In approximately 1–2% of non-small cell lung cancers, a chromosomal rearrangement fuses the ROS1 gene to a partner gene, creating an abnormal fusion protein that is permanently …
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