{"entity":{"id":"histology","kind":"term","name":"Histology","aka":["histological","histologic","histopathology","histopathological","histotype","histotypes","histological subtype","histological subtypes","pathology report","pathology","pathologist","pathologists","under the microscope","H&E","microscopy","histologies","histologic subtype","variant histology","variant histologies","histological-subtype"],"tldr":"The study of tissue under the microscope. A cancer's histology is what kind of cells it is made of and how they are arranged, which is how a pathologist names it and grades it.","summary":"Thin slices of fixed tissue are stained, classically with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), so that nuclei show purple and the surrounding tissue pink; the pathologist reads cell type, architecture, invasion, grade, and margins, then adds immunohistochemistry and molecular tests as needed. Histology defines the cancer's name (adenocarcinoma, squamous, small cell, sarcoma subtype) and, with stage, is the foundation of treatment; a change in histology at progression, such as an EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma transforming into small-cell lung cancer, changes therapy entirely. Digital slide scanning and AI models now assist with grading, counting and predicting molecular features from the image alone.","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histopathology","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histopathology"}],"tags":[],"related":["biopsy","ihc","tumour-grade","carcinoma","differentiation","adenocarcinoma","squamous-cell-carcinoma","tumour-differentiation","core-needle-biopsy"],"cancers":[],"sections":["diagnostics"],"technologies":["histopathology-ihc","digital-pathology-ai","pathology-foundation-model"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Clinic basics"},"route":"/terms/histology/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"prostate-acinar-adenocarcinoma","kind":"term","name":"Acinar adenocarcinoma of the prostate","route":"/terms/prostate-acinar-adenocarcinoma/"},{"id":"adenocarcinoma","kind":"term","name":"Adenocarcinoma","route":"/terms/adenocarcinoma/"},{"id":"benign-vs-malignant","kind":"term","name":"Benign versus malignant","route":"/terms/benign-vs-malignant/"},{"id":"biopsy","kind":"term","name":"Biopsy","route":"/terms/biopsy/"},{"id":"carcinoma","kind":"term","name":"Carcinoma","route":"/terms/carcinoma/"},{"id":"core-needle-biopsy","kind":"term","name":"Core needle biopsy and fine-needle aspiration (FNA)","route":"/terms/core-needle-biopsy/"},{"id":"differentiation","kind":"term","name":"Differentiation","route":"/terms/differentiation/"},{"id":"tumour-grade","kind":"term","name":"Grade","route":"/terms/tumour-grade/"},{"id":"ihc","kind":"term","name":"Immunohistochemistry (IHC)","route":"/terms/ihc/"},{"id":"keratoacanthoma","kind":"term","name":"Keratoacanthoma: the tumour that may be a squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/terms/keratoacanthoma/"},{"id":"nucleus","kind":"term","name":"Nucleus","route":"/terms/nucleus/"},{"id":"squamous-cell-carcinoma","kind":"term","name":"Squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/terms/squamous-cell-carcinoma/"},{"id":"bcc-growth-pattern","kind":"term","name":"The growth pattern on a basal cell carcinoma report: nodular, superficial, infiltrative, basosquamous","route":"/terms/bcc-growth-pattern/"},{"id":"cscc-subtype-and-grade","kind":"term","name":"The subtype and grade on a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma report","route":"/terms/cscc-subtype-and-grade/"},{"id":"who-breast-classification","kind":"term","name":"The WHO classification of breast tumours, and what the 6th edition changed","route":"/terms/who-breast-classification/"},{"id":"tumour-differentiation","kind":"term","name":"Tumour differentiation (well / moderately / poorly differentiated)","route":"/terms/tumour-differentiation/"}],"section":[{"id":"diagnostics","kind":"section","name":"Diagnostics & Biomarkers","route":"/fronts/diagnostics/"}],"technology":[{"id":"digital-pathology-ai","kind":"technology","name":"Digital pathology & AI","route":"/technologies/digital-pathology-ai/"},{"id":"histopathology-ihc","kind":"technology","name":"Histopathology & immunohistochemistry","route":"/technologies/histopathology-ihc/"},{"id":"pathology-foundation-model","kind":"technology","name":"Pathology & radiology foundation models","route":"/technologies/pathology-foundation-model/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"lung-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Lung cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/lung-cancer/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-mok-ipass-gefitinib-pulmonary-adenocarcinoma-nejm-2009","kind":"paper","name":"Gefitinib or carboplatin-paclitaxel in pulmonary adenocarcinoma","route":"/key-papers/paper-mok-ipass-gefitinib-pulmonary-adenocarcinoma-nejm-2009/"},{"id":"paper-sequist-genotypic-histological-evolution-egfr-resistance-sci-transl-med-2011","kind":"paper","name":"Genotypic and histological evolution of lung cancers acquiring resistance to EGFR inhibitors","route":"/key-papers/paper-sequist-genotypic-histological-evolution-egfr-resistance-sci-transl-med-2011/"},{"id":"paper-rudin-sclc-molecular-subtypes-nat-rev-cancer-2019","kind":"paper","name":"Molecular subtypes of small cell lung cancer: a synthesis of human and mouse model data","route":"/key-papers/paper-rudin-sclc-molecular-subtypes-nat-rev-cancer-2019/"},{"id":"paper-sandler-ecog-4599-bevacizumab-nsclc-nejm-2006","kind":"paper","name":"Paclitaxel-carboplatin alone or with bevacizumab for non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-sandler-ecog-4599-bevacizumab-nsclc-nejm-2006/"},{"id":"paper-scagliotti-cisplatin-pemetrexed-histology-jco-2008","kind":"paper","name":"Phase III study comparing cisplatin plus gemcitabine with cisplatin plus pemetrexed in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-scagliotti-cisplatin-pemetrexed-histology-jco-2008/"},{"id":"paper-wynder-graham-tobacco-bronchiogenic-carcinoma-jama-1950","kind":"paper","name":"Tobacco smoking as a possible etiologic factor in bronchiogenic carcinoma; a study of 684 proved cases","route":"/key-papers/paper-wynder-graham-tobacco-bronchiogenic-carcinoma-jama-1950/"}],"drug":[{"id":"erlotinib","kind":"drug","name":"Erlotinib","route":"/drugs/erlotinib/"},{"id":"imiquimod","kind":"drug","name":"Imiquimod","route":"/drugs/imiquimod/"}],"journal":[{"id":"cellular-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Cellular oncology","route":"/journals/cellular-oncology/"},{"id":"journal-of-environmental-pathology-toxicology-and-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology","route":"/journals/journal-of-environmental-pathology-toxicology-and-oncology/"},{"id":"pathology-and-oncology-research","kind":"journal","name":"Pathology oncology research","route":"/journals/pathology-and-oncology-research/"}]}}