Anatomic Pathology

Leadership

Thaer Khoury, MD, FCAP
Vice Chair, Anatomic Pathology
Chief of Breast Pathology, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Anatomic pathology provides subspecialty surgical pathology and cytopathology services for all disease types ensuring accurate and timely patient diagnosis. This division is also responsible for autopsy services at our center. Our faculty members are involved in education of graduate and medical students, residents, and fellows, and present and lecture at local, national, and international meetings.

Oncologic Surgical Pathology Fellowship Cytopathology Fellowship

Surgical Pathology

Our team of 18 staff pathologists review about 25,000 surgical cases a year. All patients treated at Roswell Park have their pathologic material reviewed by pathologists with expertise in that tumor type before a treatment plan is established. Our pathologists provide second opinion reviews at the request of other pathologists, surgeons, and oncologists — or patients themselves — to confirm the original diagnosis and are an integral component of leading the process of multidisciplinary conferences

While our faculty members conduct their own research, we also collaborate with Roswell Park basic scientists, clinicians, and colleagues across the country in large multicenter studies. We contribute to the medical knowledge through publications and presentations at various meetings.

Cytopathology

Cytopathology, the microscopic identification of malignancy-associated morphologic features in neoplastic cells, is central to cancer diagnosis. Roswell Park’s cytopathology service performs rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) for endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-procured fine needle aspirations (FNAs) as well as diagnostic services for smears, cell blocks and liquid-based cytology from all body sites including skin and brain. Cytopathology delivers diagnoses on more than 7,000 cases per year including a rich assortment of outside consults.

Our division currently has a funded research project, exploring the utility of ROSE in the procurement of malignant cells for immediate reflex to next generation sequencing (NGS) biomarker testing to rapidly identify clinically actionable tumor targets.

Autopsy

The autopsy service is an integral part of the overall quality assurance program at Roswell Park. Dedicated space and personnel for this service allows us to review cases promptly and provides answers to both treating physicians and family members of the deceased.