2019 Volume 56 Issue 2 Pages 126-130
Pathologists and clinicians often have difficulty in diagnosing and choosing a therapeutic strategy for pediatric soft tissue tumors because of their rarity. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the concept of histopathological diagnosis and its molecular biological background. The widely used World Health Organization (WHO) classification of pediatric soft tissue tumors is based on cell differentiation determined by histopathological analysis, and the tumors are classified into 12 categories and three biological potentials. In addition, the development of molecular biological analysis technology has revealed various genetic backgrounds, which are reflected in the WHO classification. However, genetic alterations and histological types do not always match, because tumor-specific genetic alterations are occasionally found in other tumor groups. In molecular biological analysis, errors in sample collection and analysis may occur at a constant rate. Therefore, the results of histopathological analysis are presently prioritized over those of molecular biological analysis. For prompt treatment, clinicians need to determine how extensive histopathological, molecular, and biological studies should be performed at their own institutions.
