Molecular Diagnosis of Gliomas

The importance of molecular alterations in gliomas has long been recognized. Accordingly, the new WHO Classification of CNS Tumors has incorporated many molecular alterations into the diagnostic algorithms used for primary gliomas. This lecture will describe these alterations, their diagnostic and/or prognostic significance, and the molecular testing modalities that detect them.

Lecture Presenter
Christian J. Davidson, MD
Christian J. Davidson, MD
Assistant Professor of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine
Medical Director, Anatomic Pathology, ARUP Laboratories

Dr. Davidson is an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. After receiving his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, he completed his anatomic pathology residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and his neuropathology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston. Dr. Davidson is a member of the American Association of Neuropathologists. In addition, he has a longstanding interest in molecular tumorigenesis of brain tumors, specifically the diffuse gliomas and NF2-related tumors.

Objectives

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

Identify the histopathology of common glial tumors
Describe the diagnostic molecular alterations present in these tumors
Recognize the changes made to the WHO classification and grading system of these tumors
Implement a diagnostic algorithm to aid in your diagnosis of CNS tumors