Minimum Pathology Reporting Elements for Melanoma: A Review of Reporting Guidelines and Proposal for Minimum Reporting Elements for a Quality Pathology Report by the Task Force of the American Society of Dermatopathology

Guidelines have been proposed for the pathology reporting of melanoma to ensure inclusion of data elements important for patient care. Compliance with guidelines has been made a yardstick for quality performance. However, there is controversy about how comprehensive a report must be, which is why the American Society of Dermatopathology has formed a task force with the goal of defining minimum data elements that should be included in a pathology report of a primary cutaneous melanoma. Importantly, additional information can or at times should be documented if a pathologist believes it is valuable to the clinical care team of a particular patient. The proposed minimum reporting guidelines outlined herein largely reflect core reporting elements by various professional organizations. Data elements must be included if they are needed for pathologic staging. Excisions require a margin status, but detailed margin metrics are not required for most cases. Furthermore, histopathologic subtyping of melanoma in situ is not routinely needed. Whether or not invasive melanoma should be subclassified depends on clinical relevance and whether the available evidence permits a definitive melanoma subclassification. When the minimum data elements are included, a pathology report should be considered compliant with quality reporting guidelines.