The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is a 437-bed
hospital devoted to cancer research, patient care, and education. The clinic facilities
are capable of handling more than 300,000 patient visits annually. The Department
of Pathology has moved to a newly built state-of-the-art building and now has approximately
6,000 square feet of laboratory spaces. In anatomic pathology, 40,000 tumors or tumor-related
specimens, are handled and approximately 130 autopsies are performed annually.
Approximately 19,000 cytology cases are processed annually of which
almost 60% represent non-gynecologic specimens, including about 4,500 needle aspirations,
of which about 40% are superficial aspirations procured by the cytopathology staff.
Close to 1,000 cytology specimens are evaluated for DNA content in the image analysis
laboratory.
Hematopathology evaluates approximately 11,000 bone marrow specimens
and 2,100 lymph node specimens/year. The molecular laboratory performs
more than 14,000 tests/year and flow cytometry tests approximately
23,000 specimens/year. The Division of Pathology and Laboratory
Medicine performs close to 4,000,000 clinical laboratory tests and
procedures including approximately 550,000 hematology and coagulation
tests. These examinations include aspirate smears, clot sections,
biopsies and special stains. There are approximately 400-500 new
acute and chronic leukemia per year. Most of the cases represent
in-house patients include Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
Approximately 400 new lymphomas are available for review annually.
Three medical libraries are available in the Texas Medical Center
including the Research Medical Library at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Close educational
relationships are also maintained with the components of The University of Texas
Health Science Center in Houston.