Contributions From the University of Michigan 2023 New Frontiers in Pathology Conference

The University of Michigan’s Department of Pathology hosts a continuing medical education conference for community and academic surgical pathologists, as well as trainees, called New Frontiers in Pathology (https://pathology.med.umich.edu/newfrontiers). The goal of the conference is to provide updates on frequently encountered disease entities, share strategies for approaching common diagnostic dilemmas, and introduce emerging topics in the field of surgical pathology. For 2023, the conference was held for 3 days from October 26 to October 28, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The conference consisted of a mix of case-based sessions, as well as interactive breakout sessions, across a broad selection of topics. The conference featured plenary lectures by University of Michigan Department of Pathology alumni Steven Smith, MD, PhD, who now serves as director of the Genitourinary and Bone & Soft Tissue Services at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), and Julie Jorns, MD, who now serves as director of breast pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). The conference concluded with renowned breast pathologist Susan Lester, MD, PhD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts), delivering the A. James French plenary lecture and participating alongside University of Michigan clinicians in a multidisciplinary panel to discuss case scenarios highlighting the intersection of breast pathology and clinical decision-making.With support from the editorial team at Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, we are pleased to present several review articles covering some of the topics discussed during the conference. These articles highlight updates on topics of great importance to general surgical pathologists. Farran, Rabah, and Simon provide a review of the pathologic findings and differential diagnoses in SAR-CoV-2 placentitis in light of recent advances in the literature. Szczepanski, Westerhoff, and Schechter review diagnostic features of plexiform fibromyxoma in the context of the broader differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors. Plotzke, Manthei, Fullen, Chan, Bresler, Xiao, Andea, and Harms present original research on the use of clinical molecular testing to evaluate whether second melanoma tumors represent metastases or a second primary tumor. In Part II of this special section, Cecchi, Becker, and Conway discuss the pathologic diagnosis of central nervous system vasculitis, with emphasis on using a pattern-based approach to maintain a broad differential diagnosis. Finally, Rudolf and Ferris present a case series of a recently described central nervous system tumor, high-grade astrocytoma with piloid features, with accompanying updates on the literature.We hope you find these articles informative and useful.