World Health Organization Classification of Tumours: Pathology and Genetics of Head and Neck Tumours

Over the past decade working as a consultant head and neck pathologist, I have come to rea lize the importance of nomenclature and terminology in the diagnosis ofhead and neck organ diseases.There have been many cases in which the pathologist has had the right diagnosis but has used a term that is unfamiliar to the primary care physician , surgeo n,oncologis t, rad iation therapist,orgeneticist, result ing in confusion and unnecessary delay in treatment. Classification scheme s are used to provide a foundation for tumor diagnosis with a repro ducible approac h to terminology, which aids the clinician in planning treatment, give s an indication of prognosis, allows for an eva luatio n of the treatment resul ts, and faci litates the easy exchange of information between the ever-expanding number of physicians and healthcare providers invo lved in treatin g patients effectively. Frequently, patients are referre d for outside opinions or to a tertiary medical center for treatment. Utilization of similar termin ology by each of the faci lities streamlines the patient 's treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been at the forefront of tumor classification since it began the first Internat ional Histological Class ification of Tumours ser ies back in 1967. The first book devoted to head and neck tumors, publi shed in 1971 , was on the histologic typing of oropharyngea l tumors. It includ ed 40 color plates and was published in mult iple languages, at a cost of $4. Cont ributing pathologists were from II countries. Thi rtyfou r years later, with a number of iterations between, the WHO has j ust (September 2005) published a new volume on the histologic and genetic typing of tumors, Pathology and Genetics ofHead and Neck Tumours. Prepared by 130 authors from 28 cou ntries, this authoritative and concise volume provides an international standa rd reference book on tumors of the head and neck. The diagnostic criter ia, pathologic features, and associated genetic alterations were deve loped further by convening a Working Group of more than 35 highly respected authorities from mult iple disciplin es in medicine at an Editorial and Consensus Conference. Th ey carefully adjusted and clarified the exac t terms to be included.