The Oncologist’s Guide to Synoptic Reporting: A Primer

Synoptic reporting in tumour pathology is defined by (1) completeness in terms of data elements as well as (2) a specific, laboratory value-like format. Adoption of synoptic reporting leads to more complete reporting of essential parameters, improved standardisation of diagnostic criteria and terminology, as well as easier retrieval of information. It is therefore associated with a high degree of satisfaction among end users including surgeons and oncologists and contributes to improvement of clinical care. Furthermore, synoptic reporting is an important step towards higher levels of data capture, which facilitate data exchange and analysis for quality assurance, cancer epidemiology and clinical and basic research. Increased interest in and adoption of synoptic reporting on a global level is stimulated by the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR) which publishes freely available, evidence-based datasets for reporting an increasing number of different cancer types. These developments pave the path for increased future application of synoptic reporting across the entire field of oncologic medicine, where it will likely deploy similar benefits to those in pathology. Given that synoptic reporting can be considered the most precise means available for reporting of medical findings, it may be predicted to be critical for the promise of precision medicine to become real.