Breast Pathology Rotation

The breast service covers all neoplastic and non-neoplastic breast lesions from a wide spectrum of patients seen by the Breast Cancer Program. There are more than 4,000 cases seen annually, including core and excisional biopsies, as well as mastectomies.

The one-month rotation includes:

• Hands-on experience in the grossing room to understand the basics of specimen sampling, inking for margin assessment, sectioning for microscopic examination, as well as harvesting lymph nodes and sentinel lymph node processing
• Learning how to approach histology and make diagnoses through daily case sign-out with attending pathologist
• Learning the elements of a pathology report and the use of cancer templates
• Understanding the role of immunostains in breast pathology
• Assessment of prognostic and predictive markers in breast cancer and their clinical significance
• Learning how to communicate with our clinical colleagues regarding cases and diagnoses

This rotation is based on a three-day cycle:

• Day 1
  • Gross breast surgical specimens and preview grossed breast surgical specimens from prior afternoon
  • Review important breast lesions in study sets
• Day 2
  • Morning: Preview grossed breast surgical specimens and prepare pathology reports
  • Afternoon: Sign out grossed breast surgical specimens (with one attending)
• Day 3
  • Morning: Preview and sign-out breast core biopsies
  • Afternoon: Follow-up on prior day's pending studies and complete final pathology reports; begin Day 1 grossing

• Breast Tumor Board, Thursdays
• Yearly lectures and other conferences

At Cedars-Sinai, a considerable amount of research is done in clinical, translational and basic science for studying breast disease. This includes a strong focus on molecular and precision medicine. Residents have ample opportunities to become involved in research, depending on their level of interest..