A pathologist diagnoses cancer by analyzing samples of blood, tissue and body fluid. This helps the medical team identify the specific type of cancer and decide on the treatments that are likely to work best. It takes years of training and experience to become an expert pathologist. After medical school, doctors complete a minimum of four years in a pathology training program and generally undergo additional training in a subspecialty.
Jingxin Qiu, MD, PhD, head of Roswell Park’s Neuropathology Service, is a fellowship-trained, board-certified neuropathologist — an expert who has had highly specific training in the diagnosis of diseases of the central nervous system, including the spine. In addition to identifying and classifying a tumor, he can test for tumor markers or chromosome abnormalities that can help predict whether or not your tumor is likely to respond to chemotherapy. The information he provides the rest of the medical team will help determine the best treatment plan for you.
Our Pathology Department is the largest and most comprehensive in the region, supporting your neuropathologist with a staff of more than 200 experts, who see even rare cancers on a regular basis.
Our pathologists report that more than 10% of patients receive a change in diagnosis after seeking a second opinion from Roswell Park.