Description
The use of genomics in cancer pathways has benefited the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of the disease. By comparing the DNA of the tumour with that of healthy tissue, changes or variants can be identified and used to inform clinical decisions.
Tumours are heterogenous in nature, containing both neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells. For this reason, the region of tumour that the DNA is extracted from must be assessed to ensure it contains a sufficient amount of neoplastic cells to provide a valid and meaningful result.
Why take this course?
For a tumour sample to be put forward for genomic testing, it must have the recommended cellularity and neoplastic cell content. These online training modules present a systematic approach to assessing the suitability of samples for genomic sequencing. They have been developed with colleagues from the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Queen’s University Belfast.
Who is this course aimed at?
This course has been developed for histopathologists, clinical scientists and biomedical scientists involved in the selection of tumour samples for genomic testing.
What will I learn?
The course is split into three modules:
Module 1: The Evidence for a Systematic Approach
- Suitable for histopathologists, and biomedical and clinical scientists, this 35-minute course sets out the principles of, and evidence behind, a systematic approach to assessing cellularity and neoplastic content in tumour samples.
Module 2: Adopting a Systematic Model
- Following on from module 1, this 20-minute course provides a step-by-step tutorial in a systematic model of tumour assessment.
Module 3: Final Assessment
- The assessment module allows learners to test their knowledge by estimating the cellularity and percentage of neoplastic content of a range of tumour samples within a digital pathology environment.
How will I learn?
The first two modules are delivered through textual content, videos and infographics. There are also interactive sections and opportunities for learners to demonstrate what they have learnt. In the final assessment, learners will estimate the cellularity of neoplastic cell content of 30 real cancer samples and compare their answer with that of experts.
