Impact of the adjunction of a short video to an original article for the recognition of newly described tumor entities in pathology: An interventional prospective study

Context Merkel cell carcinoma diagnosis is often based on microscopic examination by pathologists. While histopathologic diagnosis primarily hinges on conscious and analytical cognition, the pathologist's decision‐making process is also influenced by a rapid “gist” or “gestalt” approach. In this study, using cases of Merkel cell carcinoma as a model, we aim to assess how pathologists' viewing short videos containing conceptual clues and visual aids, in conjunction with reading an original article as a reference, may enhance their diagnostic performance. Method Sixteen pathologists were included in the present work. After participants had read the original article, their ability to distinguish Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)+ and MCPyV− Merkel cell carcinoma cases was evaluated on a first preliminary series of 20 cases. Following this test, the participants watched the video and then evaluated a second “experimental” series of 20 independent cases. Results After reading the original article, for each case, a median number of 12 participants (75%, Q1–Q3: 10–13) classified the specimen in the correct category (92 incorrect answers in the whole series). An important interobserver variability was observed in this setting (Kappa coefficient = 0.465). By contrast, following the video, all cases were correctly classified by most of the participants, with only 12 incorrect answers on the whole series and excellent interobserver reproducibility (Kappa coefficient = 0.846). Conclusion Our study demonstrated that providing a short video together with an original article may enhance pathologists' performance in diagnosing Merkel cell carcinoma.