Reporting of Toxicologic Histopathology: Contrasting Approaches in Diagnostic versus Experimental Practice

Holland, Tom

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Cheshire, UK

Address correspondence to: Tom Holland, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, 4 Watersfield Close, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, Cheshire, UK SK8 6HB; phone: +44 (0)1625 514823; e-mail: [email protected].

Toxicologic Pathology 39(2):p 418-421, February 2011. | DOI: 10.1177/0192623310389620

There are substantial differences between the information required in a diagnostic histopathology report and an experimental pathology report. A diagnostic report rests on the authority of the person issuing it, so there is less emphasis on the data and analysis on which the diagnosis is based being in the report. By contrast, an experimental report gains its authority from the integrity of the data and the objective analysis of that data. It is recommended that the current diagnostic reporting of the histopathology component of toxicological studies be changed to a more experimental report approach.