Transcription

• Nancy Johnson

  Celebrity influencers are getting in the lab testing business. Hear why one pathologist urges caution. This story and more coming up. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Friday, February 20th. Social media posts and podcasts from celebrities are everywhere these days promoting medical tests online. But are they overselling the benefits and can you trust these tests? I spoke with Dr. Ben Mazer, a pathologist from Johns Hopkins. He's also a member of the CAP's Digital Content Committee.

• Dr. Ben Mazer

  For pathology, a big part of it is running all sorts of lab tests, which are not standard. You know, there's sort of a new one every week. It's hard to list them. But, you know, there's this idea that you can find out all this sort of secret information about your health, you know, even if you feel perfectly fine through, you know, a broad array of kind of esoteric lab tests that are not part of your standard kind of panel you get from a doctor.

• Nancy Johnson

  These slick ads sell people on paying a fee. to get access to hundreds of lab tests they may not need.

• Dr. Ben Mazer

  Yeah, all sorts of vitamin tests, testosterone and hormone levels that are, you know, not indicated. You know, some of them are real tests that have very specific indications that that is not what they're being used for in these settings. You know, that they're meant for, you know, people with a specific medical condition, not the general healthy public testing them. And they're hard to interpret. You know, that's why we don't recommend them for everyone.

• Nancy Johnson

  There are physicians backing some of these tests, but Dr. Mazer says they usually have a financial motivation to paint an overly positive picture.

• Dr. Ben Mazer

  Even if they are, you know, legitimate physicians with good education, they have an incentive to be promoting these things as unique, as innovative, game-changing. I think there is a role for a doctor to be a little bit more boring and balanced and say, here's what's good and bad and unknown about these tests. I'm not trying to sell it to you.

• Nancy Johnson

  Dr. Mazer advises people to consult their primary care physicians before investing in a battery of lab tests they see marketed online. Artificial intelligence tools designed to guide cancer treatment decisions are beginning to reach the market as oncologists weigh how to best use them in clinical care. A recent story in STAT says companies are developing machine learning systems that analyze tumor images to uncover patterns beyond what the human eye can detect. The goal is to help doctors choose the most effective therapy, especially in cases where it's unclear which treatment will work best for a particular patient. Oncologists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute call the technology promising. and say it could help them reach a new level of personalized medicine. Experts say questions remain, though, about how to integrate the tools into practice and who would be liable if recommendations fall short. Second diagnostic opinions in bone and soft tissue sarcoma may improve patient survival. That comes from a systematic new review published in Pathology. Researchers analyzed 27 studies and found that major discrepancies between first and second pathology reviews were linked to lower five-year overall and disease-specific survival rates. In one study of nearly 400 patients, Those with a major change in diagnosis had significantly worse outcomes compared to patients whose diagnosis remained the same. Experts say the findings support guidelines from the Australian and New Zealand Sarcoma Association, which recommend expert second opinions for all bone and soft tissue sarcoma cases. And finally, the CAP is offering its Laboratory Medical Direction Live Workshop to help pathologists strengthen their leadership and lab management skills. The program, happening May 7th and 8th in Northbrook, Illinois, offers a total of 31 continuing education credits. Designed for credentialed pathologists and those with lab oversight responsibilities, the curriculum focuses on quality management, risk reduction, regulatory compliance, and effective communication to improve patient care. Registration is open now with a $500 early registration discount available through March 23rd. That's all for today. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Watch your email inbox for more news like this in the CAP's advocacy newsletter every Tuesday and our weekly edition newsletter on Thursdays. We're back Monday at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.