Review
The evolving classification of soft tissue tumours – an update based on the new 2013 WHO classification
Christopher D M Fletcher,
Corresponding Author
Christopher D M Fletcher
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Address for correspondence: C D M Fletcher MD, FRCPath, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorChristopher D M Fletcher,
Corresponding Author
Christopher D M Fletcher
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Address for correspondence: C D M Fletcher MD, FRCPath, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The new World Health Organization (WHO) classification of soft tissue tumours was published in early 2013, almost 11 years after the previous edition. While the number of newly recognized entities included for the first time is fewer than that in 2002, there have instead been substantial steps forward in molecular genetic and cytogenetic characterization of this family of tumours, leading to more reproducible diagnosis, a more meaningful classification scheme and providing new insights regarding pathogenesis, which previously has been obscure in most of these lesions. This brief overview summarizes changes in the classification in each of the broad categories of soft tissue tumour (adipocytic, fibroblastic, etc.) and also provides a short summary of newer genetic data which have been incorporated in the WHO classification.
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