Vet Comp Oncol. 2022 Jul 20. doi: 10.1111/vco.12853. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Histopathological evaluation of tumors is a subjective process, but studies of inter-pathologist agreement are uncommon in veterinary medicine. The Comparative Brain Tumor Consortium (CBTC) recently published diagnostic criteria for canine gliomas.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of inter-pathologist agreement on intracranial canine gliomas, utilizing the CBTC diagnostic criteria.
ANIMALS: 85 samples from dogs with an archival diagnosis of intracranial glioma.
METHODS: Five pathologists independently reviewed H&E and immunohistochemistry sections and provided a diagnosis and grade. Percentage agreement and kappa statistics were calculated to measure inter-pathologist agreement between pairs and amongst the entire group.
RESULTS: A consensus diagnosis of glioma subtype and grade was achieved for 71/85 (84%) cases. For these cases, percentage agreement on combined diagnosis (subtype and grade), subtype, and grade were 66%, 80% and 82%, respectively. Kappa statistics for the same were 0.466, 0.542 and 0.516, respectively. Kappa statistics for oligodendroglioma, astrocytoma, and undefined glioma were 0.585, 0.566, and 0.280 and were 0.516 for both low-grade and high-grade tumors. Kappa statistics amongst pairs of pathologists for combined diagnosis varied from 0.352 to 0.839. 8% of archival oligodendrogliomas and 61% of archival astrocytomas were reclassified as another entity after review.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Inter-pathologist agreement utilizing CBTC guidelines for canine glioma was moderate overall but varied from fair to almost perfect between pairs of pathologists. Agreement was similar for oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas but lower for undefined gliomas. These results are similar to pathologist agreement in human glioma studies and with other tumor entities in veterinary medicine. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID:35856268 | DOI:10.1111/vco.12853
