Surgical Pathology....

žGrossing is the cornerstone of surgical pathology. Gross processing or "grossing" is the process by which pathology specimens undergo examination with the bare eye to obtain diagnostic information, as well as cutting and tissue sampling in order to prepare material for subsequent microscopic examination. The grossing of radical surgery specimens of oral cancer is extremely challenging due to the complicated anatomy with the inclusion of various tissues such as mucosa, soft-tissue, bone, skin, etc., in the specimen. Despite many advances in the field of pathology, for example, immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques, the quality and completeness of a histopathology report are still heavily dependent upon how well a specimen has been sampled and processed. No amount of advanced technology can compensate for the shortcomings brought about by a compromised grossing.

žThus, it serves as the bridge between the surgeon and microscopic diagnosis. It provides several valuable information and parameters to determine the pathological staging of oral cancer. Also, essential/core data provided in the histopathology report significantly influence further treatment decisions taken.

žThe current research and published data suggest that pTNM, tumour volume, DOI, surgical margin status, tumour budding, vascular and perineural invasion, bone invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis to be the consistent, easy to assess and reliable core prognosticators in OSCC, based on which apt management should be planned to reduce the patient morbidity and mortality rates. Thus application of surgical pathology and reporting of above parameters are important for the prediction of clinical outcome and archiving of valued data for future analysis.