Laboratory diagnostics in hematology—a new “Educational” series

Correct diagnosis in hemato-oncology can be a challenge even for the specialist: in the new WHO classification, nearly 200 entities are defined based on different biological and clinical characteristics [1]. With the advent of massive parallel sequencing, the knowledge about the genetic landscape of diverse diseases expanded dramatically over a few years; an example is acute myeloid leukemia, where dozens of subgroups according to specific genetic changes can be differentiated [2]. This resulted in new prognostic models and therapeutic opportunities; however, the overwhelming amount of diagnostic (often genetic) information may leave even the specialist clueless. Therefore, it is clear that the diagnostic process in hemato-oncology needs to be multidisciplinary and interactive to achieve a correct result for optimal patient care. …