The past decade has seen considerable diagnostic advances distinguishing classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) from other lymphoma mimics. Currently, because of both speed and convenience, immunohistochemistry is the gold standard in diagnosing CHL. However, there are significant potential diagnostic difficulties of CHL, including several clinically relevant mimics.
With an eye towards driving patient care and advancing outcomes, pathologists play a critical role in revealing both accurate and precise tumor subtypes to apply the right treatment course. There is a high personal and treatment cost to a wrong diagnosis, and it is the responsibility of the pathologist to get it right - 100% of the time. To sort out common or challenging issues in pathology, we partnered with the American Registry of Pathology and Annals of Diagnostic Pathology on a series of expert approaches in diagnostic pathology. In the first of our series of articles, we focus on CHL, recommending a panel of studies for primary identification. Important differential diagnoses and their approaches are also discussed at length.
