Leslie Gail Dodd

Surgical Pathology and cytopathology of neoplasms.
Orthopedic pathology

Current research interests include: 1. Characterization of solid organ neoplasms by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and 2. Quantification of tumor characteristics using digital cell image analysis. In cytology, current interests center around the characterization of neoplastic diseases: refining the criteria for FNA diagnosis of tumors, expanding the use of FNA in primary diagnosis, and findings of unusual lesions. A related interest is the correlation between cytopathology and histopathologic findings of neoplasms. Ongoing studies in the cell imaging lab concern the concept of tumor heterogeneity. Intratumoral heterogeneity, defined as the existence of more than one stemline of malignant cells per primary tumor has been documented in numerous neoplasms including: renal, ovarian, prostate, lung, gastroesophageal, colorectal, thyroid, oral and laryngeal carcinomas. In breast carcinoma, heterogeneity has been documented with respect to hormone receptors and DNA indices in a limited series of tumors. Tumors in this study are mapped and analyzed visually via image analysis systems. The rationale behind this method (as opposed to flow cytometry for DNA and conventional dextran-charcoal for ER/PR) is to sample multiple, discrete regions of tumor including the tumor/host tissue interface. This discrete region method most closely simulates the type and amount of tissues currently sent for analyses by conventional methods. Also, visual mapping allows for correlation with histopathological grade of specific regions. In the cell imaging laboratory, we are currently measuring simultaneous parameters and studying intraparametric relationships as well as looking for correlates to histopathologic features and clinical outcomes.