6th Annual Course of Academy of Immunohistochemistry
Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry and Molecular Pathology

Krakow, Poland, 9 – 11th October 2019

Speakers:

Maria Debiec-Rychter (Belgium)

Is a professor at Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Belgium. Her daily work is focused on diagnostic services (karyotyping and molecular cytogenetic/genetic tests) for the differential diagnosis and predictive selection of solid tumors for standard chemotherapy or targeted therapy with small molecule inhibitors. Her research is concentrated mainly on the development and transfer of the knowledge of molecular biology about sarcomas and brain tumors to the daily medical practice, aiming at improvement of diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tools, identification of new therapeutic targets and promotion of innovative clinical trials in order to evaluate these new targets. She is an author and co-author of 278 publications in peer reviewed journals.

Stewart Fleming (United Kingdom)

Is a medical graduate of the University of Glasgow. He completed his residency training in Glasgow and was then appointed Lecturer at the University of Southampton and in 1988 Senior Lecturer in Edinburgh University. His doctoral thesis involved investigating the development of Wilms` tumour and led to the discovery of WT1 and its role in kidney and genital tract biology. He has researched the genetics and pathology of renal tumours for 30 years including the discovery of VHL mutations in clear cell carcinoma, and the first descriptions of collecting duct carcinoma, succinate dehydrogenase deficient renal cancer and the pathology of fumarate hydratase mutations in HLRCC. He has published over 150 papers on the pathology of the kidney and renal cancer and his work is cited more than 250 times per annum. He is the Professor of Pathology in the University of Dundee since 2000.

Allen M. Gown (USA)

Dr. Gown received his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY in 1975, and then completed his Pathology Residency as well as Pathology Fellowship training at the University of Washington, Seattle, the latter under the aegis of Dr. Earl Benditt. Dr. Gown rose through the ranks to full Professor of Pathology and served as attending pathologist at the University of Washington Medical Center, where he developed and directed the immunohistochemistry (IHC) laboratory. In 1997, Dr. Gown left the University of Washington to found PhenoPath, which has grown to become an internationally renowned specialty pathology reference laboratory. Currently, Medical Director and Chief Pathologist at PhenoPath, Dr. Gown is a pathologist-scientist recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in the diagnostic and research applications of IHC. He has developed numerous clinically important monoclonal antibodies employed in IHC laboratories around the world (HMB-45, OSCAR, etc.). Dr. Gown is a member of the editorial boards of many of the major pathology journals. He is a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, and an Affiliate Investigator in the Clinical Research Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA. Dr. Gown continues to be at the forefront of clinical investigative studies employing IHC and other modalities with over 300 peer-reviewed publications and as a frequent presenter at national and international conferences.

Jan Klos (Norway)

Senior Consultant and a Head of the Immunohistochemistry Section in the Department of Pathology, Stavanger University Hospital, Norway. His professional focus is on diagnostic pathology, particularly hematopathology, pathology of the breast and cytopathology. He has been actively involved in teaching immunohistochemistry since 2000 as co-organizer of national and international meetings and courses as well as invited lecturer. Since 2009 he is a member of the core group and assessor in NordiQC organization. He is a co-author of more than 40 publications in the field of pathology.

Jerzy Lasota (USA)

Staff Scientist at the Surgical Pathology Section of the Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. Previously at the Department of Soft Tissue Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C., Thomas Jefferson University and Temple University’s Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology in Philadelphia, as a Research Pathologist and in the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory. He is an author and co-author of 130 publications, including studies on genotyping gastrointestinal stromal tumours and several book chapters on molecular genetics of soft tissue tumors.

Markku Miettinen (USA)

Professor and Head of Surgical Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, previously at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington DC and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA. His main interest is pathology of soft tissues. His contribution to definition, biology and diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors is well recognized. He is a member of editorial boards in several top ranked pathology journals and reviewer in a number of most recognized pathology journals. His list of publications has more than 350 positions including two handbooks on Pathology of Soft Tissues and contributions to WHO Classification of Tumours of Soft Tissue and Bone. In recognition of his work honored with Totten Lecture and Award, University of Pittsburgh in 2005.

Andrzej Mroz (Poland) (Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Head of Department of Pathomorphology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education Warsaw, Poland)

He is a pathologist with the special interest in gastrointestinal pathology. For more than 10 years now he is responsible for coordination of morphological part of Colorectal Cancer Screening Program in Poland and pathologists’ training within continuous quality improvement . He acts within structures of Polish Society of Pathologist and GI Working Group of European Society of Pathology. He also coordinates postgraduate education for all pathology residents in Poland.

Søren Nielsen (Denmark)

Educated as biomedical scientist, has worked within immunohistochemistry for more than 20 years. Until November 2017 he was a project coordinator at Laboratory for immunohistochemistry/ R&D, Institute of Pathology, Aalborg Hospital, Denmark. He was also appointed from the very beginning as a scheme manager in NordiQC (Nordic Immunohistochemical Quality Control – initiated in 1998 and established as a professional organization in 2003). He was also an assessor and data analyst in all NordiQC modules (general, breast, companion diagnostic and HER-2 ISH). He has also been a regular lecturer and organizer of national and international immunohistochemical workshops, particularly in the field of protocol optimization and standardization. He is an author and co-author of more than 40 scientific publications and several book chapters based on immunohistochemical studies and he is member of the editorial board of several peer-reviewed international journals. Since November 2017 he is Director of Scientific Affairs and Support at Agilent Technologies.

Anna Porwit (Sweden)

Professor of pathology at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Division Oncology and Pathology, Lund University, Sweden is since 2016. Previously: Professor of pathology at the University of Toronto 2011-2015 and at Karolinska Institute 2003-2010. She is a co-author of approximately 200 original and review papers as well as chapters in several textbooks, editor of the textbook “Blood and Bone Marrow Pathology” and co-author of some chapters in the 2008 and 2016 editions of “WHO Classification of Haematopoietic Malignancies”.

Janusz Rys (Poland)

Graduated from Medical Faculty Jagiellonian University (1984), board certified pathologist (1991). Since 2002 is Head of Department of Tumor Pathology, Centre of Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Institute and Centre of Oncology, Kraków, Poland. Author and co-author of nearly 160 articles published, most of them concerning breast and soft tissue pathology. Editor in chief of the Polish Journal of Pathology.

Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus (Germany)

Professor of Molecular Tumor Pathology and Head of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory  at the Institute of Pathology, authorized representative for Personalized Medicine at the University Medical Center, Georg August University, Göttingen, Germany. He is also a reviewer for international journals such as the Journal of Pathology, Oncotarget, Virchows Archive, Cancer Research etc. as well as an invited speaker and lecturer of the International Academy of Pathology (IAP) in the areas of molecular pathology, fluorescence in situ hybridization and soft tissue tumors. He is also co-author of more than 100 publications in pathology. His major scientific interest is focused on lung cancer, sarcomas and the deveopment of predictive biomarkers.

Dina Tiniakos

Consultant Histopathologist and Professor of Pathology, Medical School, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (NKUoA) and is also affiliated to the Institute of Cellular Medicine, Medical School, Newcastle University, UK. Dina trained in medicine at the University of Patras, Greece and obtained PhDs from the NKUoA, Greece (1993) and Newcastle University, UK (1998). She has trained in pathology in Greece and UK and subspecialised in hepatobiliary pathology at the Royal Free Hospital, London, UK, the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and the Saint Louis University Hospital, Saint Louis, MO, USA. Dina is an invited member of the influential International Liver Study Group “Gnomes” and the Laennec Liver Pathology Society. Her main research interests are fatty liver disease and hepatocarcinogenesis but she has also published in other areas of liver, gastrointestinal and tumour pathology. She has authored/co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters in textbooks of liver pathology and histology. Dina is Associate Editor of “Histopathology”, serves as Editorial Board member of “Liver International” and the “Polish Journal of Pathology”, is reviewer for all major hepatology, gastroenterology and pathology journals, and external assessor for European research grant awarding bodies. She is currently the President of the European Society of Pathology (2017-2019) and is member of the Executive Board of the International Quality Network for Pathology and the Equality & Diversity Taskforce of United European Gastroenterology.

Mogens Vyberg (Denmark)

Professor of Clinical Pathology at Aalborg University, Senior Consultant and the Head of the Laboratory of Immunohistochemistry at the Institute of Pathology, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. His main research fields and expertise are immunohistochemistry and gastrointestinal, liver and brain pathology. He is author and co-author of more than 100 scientific papers and several book chapters in these fields as well as the text book Compendium of Applied Immunohistochemistry (Danish; English version scheduled for 2016). He is also a co-founder and scheme director of the Nordic Immunohistochemical Quality Control (NordiQC) with Aalborg Hospital as its domicile which is currently has more than 700 participating pathology laboratories from more than 40 countries.

Iwona Wlodarska (Belgium)

Is an emeritus professor at the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium. She was a senior staff member in the Laboratory of Cytogenetic and Molecular Diagnosis of Malignant Disorders at the Department of Human Genetics, University Hospital Leuven. She was involved in genetic diagnostic service (conventional and molecular karyotyping) of hematological malignancies (lymphoma as special expertise). After retirement (2017), Dr Wlodarska still continues her research activities. Her main scientific interests are focused on genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of lymphoma and leukemia. She is an author and co-author of approximately 200 scientific publications and a few book chapters.

Organizing/Scientific Committee:

Course Director:  Jan Klos MD
Members: Janusz Rys MD, Krzysztof Okon MD, Joanna Szpor MD

Program:

9th October 2019
08.00 – 09.00Registration and coffee
09.00 – 09.10Introduction J. Klos
09.10 – 10.40IHC technology S. Nielsen
10.40 – 11.00Coffee
11.00 – 11.50Interpretation pitfalls J. Klos
11.50 – 12.35Pitfalls in hematolymphoid tumors A. Porwit
12.35 – 13.30Lunch
13.30 – 14.15Diagnostic pitfalls in mesenchymal tumorsM. Miettinen
14.15 – 15.00Immunohistochemistry of kidney tumors S. Fleming
15.00 – 15.30Coffee
15.30 – 16.15Immunohistochemistry of urinary tract S. Fleming
16.15 – 17.00INI-SMARCB1 deficient tumorsJ. Rys
17.00 – 17.30Seminar cases (2 cases) – Faculty (A. Marszalek, A. Mroz)
19.30 – 22.00Course Dinner
10th October 2019
08.30 – 09.00Introduction to molecular testing of cancer M. Debiec-Rychter
09.00 – 09.45FISH in diagnosis and management of cancer I. Wlodarska
09.45 – 10.30 Next Generation Sequencing J. Lasota
10.30 – 11.00Coffee
11.00 – 11.45Cell-Free tumor DNA and Liquid biopsiesM. Debiec-Rychter / I. Wlodarska
11.45 – 12.30Tumors with fusion proteins. Diagnostic challenges.
Emerging targeted therapy J. Lasota
12.30 – 13.30Lunch
13.30 – 14.15Immunohistochemistry of GI tract (exl. Liver)M. Vyberg (J. Klos)
14.15 – 15.00Immunohistochemical approach to diagnosis
of mesenchymal tumors of GI tract (excl. GIST)
M. Miettinen
15.00 – 15.30Coffee
15.30 – 16.15Immunohistochemistry in liver pathologyD. Tiniakos
16.15 – 17.30Consultation corner – alimentary tractD. Tiniakos / M. Miettinen
11th October 2019
08.30 – 09.30IHC of the respiratory tract and pleural cavityH-U. Schildhaus
09.30 – 10.30CUP – Cancer of Unknown Primary originJ. Klos
10.30 – 11.00Coffee
11.00 – 11.45Molecular tests in GI pathologyM. Debiec-Rychter
11.45 – 12.30Seminar cases (3 cases) – Faculty (J. Rys, H-U. Schildhaus, A. Mroz)
12.30 – 13.30Lunch
13.30 – 14.15PDL1 testing for immunotherapyH-U. Schildhaus
14.15 – 15.00Emerging diagnostic antibodiesA. Gown
15.00 – 15.45Next Generation Immunohistochemistry A. Gown
15.45 – 15.55Concluding remarks J. Klos