Molecular Applications in Cytology

This book is intended for practicing pathologists and cytopathologists, as well as for pathology trainees and cytotechnicians. It starts with a detailed description of the extremely important pre-analytical phase for molecular testing followed by a presentation of the key tests and their application in different organs, e.g. the lung or thyroid. Step-by-step instructions for the different assays, reporting and clinical integration of the test results are discussed. The authors help the reader to benefit from their experiences by providing a valuable tool for the implementation of these techniques in daily practice.

Though the use of molecular techniques is well established in surgical biopsies, to date they are not widely used in connection with cytological material. However, in some fields like lung cancer or aspirates from the pancreas and biliary tract the only available material for diagnosis is the cytological preparation a fact that has created a need for the standardization of molecular techniques on cytology.

Professor Fernando Schmitt is currently Professor of Pathology and Medical Faculty of Porto University and Head of Molecular Pathology Unit at IPATIMUP, Porto.  After finishing Medical School in Brazil in 1983, he was Assistant Professor of Anatomic Pathology at the Medical Faculty of Santa Maria and Associate Professor of Anatomic Pathology at the University of São Paulo. In 2004, he started working at the Medical Faculty at the University of Porto where he was Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Molecular Pathology Unit at IPATIMUP. From 2013-2014, Professor Schmitt was full professor of pathology at the University of Toronto and from 2014-2016 was Director of the Department of Pathology at Laboratoire National de Santé, Luxembourg.

Professor Schmitt currently is the  General Secretary of the International Academy of Cytology and President of the Portuguese Society of Cytology. He also been President of the European Federation of Cytology Societies and Chairman of the Working Group of Cytopathology of the European Society of Pathology. Professor Schmitt is a member of many journal editorial boards, including Acta Cytologica, Diagnostic Cytopathology, Cancer Cytopathology, Cytopathology, BMC Cancer and the Journal of Clinical Pathology. Professor Schmitt has published more than 400 scientific papers and is an experienced international lecturer. Together with Gary Tse and Puay Hoon Tan, he has published the book Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of the Breast with Springer in 2013.