84443 - Cancerous and Precancerous Histopathology Laboratory

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Medicine and Surgery (cod. 9210)

Learning outcomes

Identify the histopathology of cancerous and precancerous lesions through slide review.

Course contents

Epithelial malignant tumors

Drill lesson 1. Basocellular carcinoma; Spinocellular carcinoma; Breast adenocarcinoma; Scirrous breast cancer; Papillary carcinoma of the bladder; Bladder cancer.

Drill lesson 2. Intestinal adenocarcinoma; Highly infiltrating colon cancer; Mucinous rectal cancer; Small cells lung cancer (microcytoma); Kidney cancer; Bronchial adenocarcinoma.

Non epithelial malignant tumors

Drill lesson 3. Fibrosarcoma; Chondrosarcoma; Polymorphic sarcoma; Ewing sarcoma; Hodgkin lymphoma; Plasmacytoma.

Metastases

Drill lesson 4. Liver metastasis of microcytoma; Kidney metastasis of microcytoma; Lung metastasis of carcinoma; Lymphnode metastasis of carcinoma; Lymphnode metastasis of spinocellular carcinoma; Hepatic metastasis of carcinoma.

Precancerous lesions and benign tumors.

Drill lesson 5. Leukoplakia of the gum; Intestinal adenomatous polyp; Liver cirrhosis; Melanocytic nevus; Breast fibroadenoma; Verrucae (wart).

Readings/Bibliography

For each histological preparation, the following supports are available:

A "virtual slide" which consists of a scan of the preparation that can be "browsed" online at: virtualmicroscopy.patologia-sperimentale.unibo.it. UNIBO users can access by entering their University credentials. The area of the site reserved for the Medicine and Surgery course is under "MED/04 General Pathology".

A description, which can be downloaded from the "Insegnamenti On Line website" under "Descriptions".

A power Point presentation, which can be downloaded from the "Insegnamenti On Line website" under "Presentations".

A video that explains the most relevant aspects of the preparations, which can be downloaded from the "Insegnamenti On Line website" under "Videos".

Teaching methods

The course is divided into 5 thematic exercises. Each exercise consists of a classroom presentation lasting 2 hours in the presence of all the students, during which the teacher will explain the slides of the week, also using the virtual microscopy platform. Subsequently, students divided into two groups will be able to see the preparations under optical microscopes during drill lessons lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes. The teacher will be present for the entire duration of the exercise to provide explanations and clarifications. It is advisable that after the presentation in the classroom and before the observation under the microscope, the students listen to the explanatory videos.

Attendance to learning activities is mandatory; the minimum attendance requirement to be admitted to the final exam is 60% of lessons. For Integrated Courses (IC), the 60% attendance requirement refers to the total amount of I.C. lessons. Students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement will not be admitted to the final exam of the course, and will have to attend relevant classes again during the next academic year.

Professors may authorise excused absences upon receipt of proper justifying documentation, in case of illness or serious reasons. Excused absences do not count against a student’s attendance record to determine their minimum attendance requirement.

Assessment methods

During the exam, which is part of the IC. "Neoplasia as Disease Model", the student will be asked to recognize and discuss one or more preparations randomly chosen among those shown during the course. The student will be requested to explain through which logical procedure he/she has reached the conclusions. The grade obtained (necessarily greater than or equal to 18) will be mediated in weighted form with the votes obtained in the other modules of the IC, contributing to determining the final grade as follows.

Oral exams
Cancerous and precancerous histopathology laboratory
Cancer Biology: 1 oral question
Oncological Pharmacology; 1 oral question
Written exams (Multiple choice, 4 answers, 1 point for each correct answer, no penalty for wrong answers)
Medical oncology: 15 questions
General Surgery: 5 questions
Oncological Radiology: 5 questions
Clinical Psychology: 5 questions

Marks
Histopathology: max 30 points, weight 1/11
Cancer Biology, max 30 points, weight 3/11
Oncological Pharmacology, max 30 points, weight 1/11
Written part: 1 point for each question, max 30 points total, weight: 6/11
Final mark: (Written*6/11) + Histopathology/11 + (Biology*3/11) + Pharmacology/11
Full marks in all parts => 30 cum laude

To pass the exam the student must obtain a pass mark in each discipline, i.e.
Histopathology: at least 18/30
Biology: at least 18/30
Pharmacology: at least 18/30
Medical Oncology: at least 8/15 correct answers
Surgery: at least 3/5 correct answers
Radiology: at least 3/5 correct answers
Psychology: at least 3/5 correct answers

Teaching tools

In addition to the Virtual Microscopy platform mentioned above, in the Exercise Room 1 (Aula di Esercitazioni 1) of the General Pathology building there is a microscope for viewing the slides connected to a computer and to a projection system. This system has proved useful for students with a partial visual impairment that limits vision at the microscope.

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Dall'Olio

SDGs

Good health and well-being

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.