Gastrointestinal

OVERVIEW

The gastrointestinal pathology unit provides diagnostic service to the outpatients and inpatients population of the Massachusetts General Hospital. This group oversees a large endoscopic volume, many hepatic biopsies and a large volume of resections of the gastrointestinal, hepatic, and pancreaticobiliary systems in adults and children.

FACULTY

Gregory Y. Lauwers, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology  (Director of Unit)
Martha Bishop Pitman, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology
Lawrence R. Zukerberg, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology
Fiona M. Graeme-Cook, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology
Joseph Misdraji, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology
Robert Hasserjian, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology
Kamran Badizadegan, Assistant Professor of Pathology
Vikram Deshpande, M.D., Instructor in Pathology
Mari Mino-Kenudson, M.D., Instructor in Pathology

CLINICAL PROGRAM

The Gastrointestinal Pathology Unit at MGH operates the surgical pathology of approximately 14,000 specimens per year. These include inpatient biopsies and resections of the entire gastrointestinal, hepatic and pancreaticobiliary systems.  In addition, the unit renders second-opinion (consultation) diagnoses on over 500 cases per year.

ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHEMENTS

Staff publications (click name to view Pubmed bibliography)

Book Chapters (past three years)

• Pitman MB. Diagnostic Cytology of the Liver in Surgical Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, Biliary Tract, and Pancreas. R. Odze, J. Crawford, and J. Goldblum, eds. W.B. Saunders, 2003
• Pitman MB and Centeno BA. Aspiration of the Liver and Pancreas in Atlas of Diagnostic Cytopathology, 2nd edition. B. Atkinson, editor. Harcourt Health Sciences, 2003
• Lauwers GY. Epithelial Neoplasms of the Stomach in Surgical Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, Biliary Tract, and Pancreas. R. Odze, J. Crawford, and J. Goldblum, eds. W.B. Saunders, 2003
• Graeme-Cook FM. Neuroendocrine Tumors of the GI Tract and Appendix in Surgical Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, Biliary Tract, and Pancreas. R. Odze, J. Crawford, and J. Goldblum, eds. W.B. Saunders, 2003
• Badizadegan K and Wolf JL. Liver pathology in pregnancy.  In: Odze RD, Goldblum JR, Crawford JM, editors. Surgical pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tract and pancreas. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2003. p. 967-78.
• Graeme-Cook FM and Lauwers GY. Esophageal and Gastric Neoplasms in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Disease. WA Walker, O Goulet, RE Kleinman, PM Sherman, BL Shneider, IR Sandersonm eds. BC Decker, 2004
• Mino M and Lauwers GY.  Pathology of periampullary tumors in Von Hoff DD, Evans DB and Hruban RH, ed. Pancreatic cancer. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2004

Awards (past three years)

• 2005 Anatomic Pathology Residents Excellence in Teaching Award (Misdraji)
• 2006 DDW Poster of Distinction Award (Mino-Kenudson)

Current Research Funding

• Intradepartmental funding for clinical research (various members)
• NIH/NCI R01-CA103883 Cables and the colonocyte (Zukerberg, PI)
• NIH/NCI R01-CA097966 Spectroscopic imaging and diagnosis of neoplasia (Badizadegan, Co-PI)
• NIH/NCRR P41-RR002594 Laser Biomedical Research Center (Badizadegan, core investigator)
• NIH R01 CA103769-01 Improving Screening and Surveillance in Barrett’s Patients (Lauwers and Mino-Kenudson, co-investigator)
• National Cancer Institute sponsored GI SPORE grant program Project 1 Improved Staging of Pancreatic Cancer (Mino-Kenudson, co-investigator)
• National Cancer Institute sponsored GI SPORE grant program Pathology core (Lauwers, core member)

TEACHING AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The GI Pathology service supports numerous teaching and educational activities within MGH, at the Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Clinical Conferences

• Weekly clinicopathologic conference with Clinical GI unit (various members)
• Bi-monthly clinicopathologic conference with pediatric GI unit (various members)
• Monthly Liver clinicopathologic conference with Hepatology group (Misdraji)
• Weekly Inflammatory Bowel Disease clinicopathologic forum (Lauwers)
• Monthly Pediatric surgery clinicopathologic conference (Badizadegan)

Residency (Pathology and GI Clinical fellowship)

• Routine sign out of cases with residents a double headed microscope
• Ad hoc surgical pathology review of case at the daily “outs” conferences
• Monthly “GI specialty” out conferences
• Weekly Clinical GI fellows cases pathology review

Post-Graduate Courses

• HMS Gastrointestinal Liver and Pancreatic Pathology course (Lauwers, co-director)
• Directorship of ASCP Workshops (Lauwers and Pitman)
• Directorship of HMS CME Web Course: "Challenging Cases in Cytohistology: Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Liver" (2004, Pitman)
• Faculty of USCAP and CAP cytopathology courses (liver and pancreas) (Pitman)
• Faculty of EUS-Guided FNAB- The Pancreas, European Congress of Cytology, Venice Italy (2006, Pitman)
• MGH Current Concepts in Surgical Pathology Annual Course (various members)

Medical and Graduate Students

• Lectures and laboratory instructor, Harvard Medical School pathology course (Graeme-Cook and Misdraji)
• Lecturer, Human Pathology, Harvard-MIT Division of HST (Badizadegan)
• Course Director, Principles and Practice of Human Pathology, Harvard-MIT Division of HST (Badizadegan)

Invited Major Lectures

Numerous invited lectures have been given by members of the GI Pathology Service in different National and International venues.

NATIONAL COMMITTEES

Members of the GI Pathology Service serve actively on several National Committees, including:

• Education committee Gastrointestinal Pathology Society (Lauwers)
• American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (Study of Cancer of the Stomach) (Lauwers)
• AJCC/UICC task force for new staging of GI malignancies (Lauwers)