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August 14, 2025

Open comment on HPV guidelines

You're Not Too Old for HPV—or a Pap Smear, Flow Space

Apply for the Engaged Leadership Academy

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Transcription

• Stevon Burrell

  Open comment for new hpv guidelines and AI makes a debut at CAP25, coming up next on the PATH News Network daily edition. This is the PATH News Network daily edition powered by the College of American Pathologists. I'm Stevon Burrell. It's Thursday, August 14th and here are the latest headlines. The CAP is calling for feedback on new guidelines for diagnosing HPV-related squamous lesions. The draft keeps standardized terminology, updates biomarker use, and drops outdated terms from 2012. Public comment runs August 13th through September 3rd. Find the link in today's show notes. And in related news, cervical cancer risk peaks for women in their 50s and early 60s, yet many stop screening too soon. In a Flowspace article, Dr. Varsha Manucha vice [chair] of the CAP Cytopathology Committee, says early detection saves lives by catching disease before symptoms appear. Experts stress that HPV infections and abnormal pap results can happen at any age, making screening essential well past menopause. The CAP's Engaged Leadership Academy is back November 15th and 16th in Northfield, Illinois. The training gives pathologists the skills to communicate the value of their work to hospital leaders, lawmakers, and other decision makers while earning CME credit. Graduates join a network of peer-driven change in how pathology is understood and valued. Details are in the show notes. And finally, pathologists looking to get hands-on experience with AI models can have their chance at CAP25. A new virtual AI platform will debut, offering ways to explore AI in real-world context. To learn more about the AI Lab, we're here today with Dr. M. E. de Baca, Chair of the CAP's Council on Informatics and Pathology Innovation. Hi, Dr. de Baca, and thank you for joining me today. Thanks, Stevon. I really appreciate having this opportunity.

• Dr. de Baca

  So, what inspired the creation of the AI Lab for CAP25 this year? Before we talk about AI at all, let me please state that when I say AI, I don't think it's artificial or intelligent. I think that this is augmented information, and pathologists are really good at information, so let's just get more of it. So that's part of what actually started us working on this. We talked about AI, we talk about data interoperability, we talk about emerging technologies, and these are all changing the way that pathologists work. So There was a recognition that CAP members would benefit from a safe and secure place to play and interact with the latest AI models in a digital pathology setting. So the innovation hub at the CAP25 was designed as a hands-on space where pathologists can explore these changes. They can ask questions and they can experience real world applications. It's designed to help foster curiosity and engagement in a really low pressure environment. This is a place where you can. be hands-on and not talking to the guy who's trying to sell you the car.

• Stevon Burrell

  In your opinion, how does the AI Lab shape future CAP standards or education?

• Dr. de Baca

  I think the lab is a way for members to have an entree into the lab. And I think that the CAP expects that there are going to be lots of opportunities to learn about what matters to pathologists and what's needed to equip. our members to leverage these technologies because AI is going to become embedded in our pathology practices and it's really essential that the CAP works on standards and advocacy efforts to reflect the shift. One thing I do think that we need to recognize though is that the CAP has really taken seriously the fact that informatics and digital technologies are here to stay. And it was a couple of years ago that the new Council on Informatics and Pathology Innovation, we call ourselves CIPI. This is pathologists who are in an area of leadership focused on creating an environment and opportunities that support innovation and creative thinking, and it holds the AI committee, so the Members of the council did help shape the Innovation Hub concept and they're central to its programming. These are the people who will at the CAP25 Innovation Hub, they will be there and we'll be leading demos and sharing real lab applications and hosting, hosting, ask me anything sessions. And hopefully this will help spark a good conversation and allow for peer to peer learning. I'm just really looking forward to it. It's like, this is where the... pathology geeks can really nerd out.

• Stevon Burrell

  Are there any final thoughts or insights that you would like listeners to know about the AI lab at CAP25 this year?

• Dr. de Baca

  For the people who heard me say this is a place where you can nerd out and this is where past geeks need to go, I would like to extend my invitation. If you're not a geek or a nerd, this does not exclude you. Many people think that AI is a huge threat. And I remember in my residency that. immunohistochemistry was a huge threat, and then molecular was a huge threat, and then next-gen sequencing was the threat. And we always feel like somebody's there to eat our lunch, but AI is going to make pathologists who use AI much better. And so here's a place to figure it out. Here's a place to get your feet wet for the first time in a place that is non-confrontational, not judgmental This is a new way to interact with and play with the stuff we do every day and that we really, really enjoy. So we're trying to make sure that we can engage everyone from resident to soon to retire and that this kind of early engagement is going to let us influence how this is an easier way to transition and let people see what tools are coming and what They might like about them and where they can see that this might be helpful for them or where they might have a learning curve to start tackling before this hits their day job.

• Stevon Burrell

  That's all we have for today. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or Spotify. Subscribe on your favorite platform. Look for more news like this in our weekly newsletter published every Tuesday and Thursday. We're back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern with more CAP news. For The Daily Edition, I'm Stevon Burrell. Have a great day.