Contributions From the University of Michigan 2022 New Frontiers in Pathology Conference

Each year, the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, organizes a case-based continuing medical education conference entitled New Frontiers in Pathology (https://pathology.med.umich.edu/newfrontiers) for community and academic pathologists, as well as our trainees. The purpose of the conference is to highlight updates regarding disease entities that pathologists encounter on a daily basis and also to introduce cutting-edge topics. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of our 2020 and 2021 conferences, we were glad to reconvene in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a special symposium dedicated to the memory of Bertram Schnitzer, MD, who was an internationally known leader in hematopathology.¹  The 3-day symposium took place September 29–October 1, 2022, in Ann Arbor. We honored Dr Schnitzer with a gathering of his family members as well as the keynote speaker, Eric Hsi, MD, who is the chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The majority of the sessions were case-based, with interactive breakout sessions presented by University of Michigan faculty.

With support from the editorial staff of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, we are pleased to present several review articles regarding some of the topics discussed at the conference. These review articles, split between 2 issues, are particularly pertinent to the practicing surgical pathologist.

Part I begins with authors Whittington, Ross, Ramirez, Lowe, Brown, and Hristov explaining myelodysplasia cutis, a recently coined term that describes cutaneous involvement by myelodysplastic syndrome. Previously, these cases were included under the umbrella of “histiocytoid Sweet syndrome.” Rottmann and Skala highlight key histologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of uncommon endometrial tumors, which must be distinguished from their morphologic mimics for proper prognostication and management. Dahl’s article reviews the features of intraplacental choriocarcinoma and “chorangiocarcinoma.” The review by Miller, Holmes, and Lew leverages the knowledge of several overlapping morphologic features, clinicoradiologic scenarios, and immunohistochemical studies to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of pleural effusion cytology. The goal is to appropriately delineate cases of adenocarcinoma, reactive mesothelial proliferation, and mesothelioma.

Part II of this special section begins with Gutierrez-Lanz, Smith, and Perry’s presentation on the histologic features of syphilis in lymph nodes and mucosal sites. Abdulfatah and Kunju discuss adenocarcinomas of the urinary tract. The paper by Becker, Camelo-Piragua, and Conway provides a practical approach to intraoperative evaluations in neuropathology in light of the recently updated World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors. Whittington, Saleh, Bresler, and Patel discuss an up-to-date review of hypertrophic lichen planus.

We hope you enjoy these contemporary review articles.