Events during September 2023

Electron microscopy is essential for the diagnosis of a range of medical renal disorders, and its use is detecting immune deposits and basement membranes changes in native kideny biopsies will be familiar to many biomedical scientists and pathologists. EM is also used in the assessment of renal transplant biopsies.

In cases of recurrent disease the features are similar to those seen in native kidneys, but there are also specific features only seen in the transplant setting. This talk will focus on the utility of EM in renal transplant biopsies, demonstrating examples from relevant cases.

Amyloidosis is disease caused by extracellular deposition in the tissues of abnormal protein in a characteristic fibrillar form known as amyloid. Early and correct diagnosis is essential so that patients benefit from appropriate and timely treatment.

The presentation will highlight the need for rigour in the demonstration of amyloid, new techniques, research, diagnosis and treatment.

This presentation will give delegates attending an:

Overview of the pre-analytical processing pathway and potential risks associated with each stage.
Historical/current/prospective optimisation of the pre-analytical pathway.
Understanding of the near-future perspectives for standardisation-will technologies such image analysis and spatial profiling affect the practice of pathology laboratories.

NGS for molecular profiling of cancer in routine practice.

There is legitimate expectation that molecular profiling of cancers can bring precious information to guide the treatment.

The clinically relevant alterations are of varied types: gene mutations, copy numbers, rearrangements, but also protein levels of expression. Profiling of tumours in routine practice is complex logistically, due to the high number of patients and targets, the small size of the samples and the quick turn around time required. An exhaustive assessment requires a variety of platforms.

Furthermore, it becomes relevant to repeat profiling on tissue and on blood during the patient’s treatment.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) offers the possibility of multiplex testing, with high sensitivity and specificity. There are multiple approaches: whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing and panels of varied sizes.

In practice, the focus is to concentrate on providing an exhaustive clinically relevant assessment for all patients, which is guided, for each type of tumour, by WHO and NICE or equivalent guidelines.

There has been initially an excess of enthusiasm about what NGS could offer in routine practice; the technology had yet not reached the stage of being implementable within clinical practice without significantly destabilising the management.

However, thanks to significant improvement, including automation of the process, efficient IT and Bioinformatics, NGS is now safely implementable.

Pending a coherent political and funding approach, molecular diagnostic laboratories are able to provide high throughout sequencing of tumours on real life tissue samples and on blood.

It is important to mention that the molecular diagnostic laboratories also need to maintain single gene testing, immunohistochemistry, FISH and to implement artificial intelligence based assays on tissue, which will be essential and complementary to NGS testing.

The results of the molecular profiling will need to be transcribed in a comprehensive, integrated and clinically relevant report.

This presentation will give delegates attending an:

Overview of the pre-analytical processing pathway and potential risks associated with each stage.
Historical/current/prospective optimisation of the pre-analytical pathway.
Understanding of the near-future perspectives for standardisation-will technologies such image analysis and spatial profiling affect the practice of pathology laboratories.

Delegates attending this presentation will:

Receive an overview of the clinical history of MMR/Lynch Syndrome, EQA and data from UK NEQAS ICC & ISH
Gain a better understanding of the importance of MMR testing and the UK NEQAS ICC & ISH assessment process.
The presentation will also focus on acceptable and not acceptable tests, and the importance of ideal controls.

This presentation will focus on the PD-L1 clones used for the different indications, acceptable and not acceptable tests, and the importance of ideal controls.

Delegates attending this presentation will:

Receive an overview of PD-L1 EQA assessments carried out by UK NEQAS ICC & ISH
Gain a better understanding of the UK NEQAS PD-L1 schemes and how assessments are carried out.

This interactive presentation will discuss general demonstration techniques, troubleshooting, and how to make the best out of the feedback you receive from your UK NEQAS CPT Results reports. The content will also cover – how to manage SOPs, importance of understanding mechanisms of action and uses of stains, recording, monitoring, and trending of IQC failures and use of UK NEQAS CPT resources to help improve staining.

There will also be an opportunity for delegates to join in and score examples of stained slides against the UK NEQAS CPT assessment criteria.

This presentation will give:

Training requirements for Biomedical Scientists and Clinical Scientists
Insight into how the skills of a Biomedical Scientist enabled development toward Consultant Clinical Scientist.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome is one of the most dangerous complications associated with assisted conception using invitro fertilisation (IVF). If not managed appropriately it can even lead to death of the women developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Clinical Biochemistry aids significantly in the diagnosis and management of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

This presentation aims to summarise the role of various biochemical parameters that are used routinely in the diagnosis and management of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.