Many-a-times accurate clinical evaluative measures like physical examination and history review taken by general physicians and practitioners reveal and confirm the presence of malignant diseases at early stages. In other cases cancer is detected incidentally when a patient is being diagnosed for other diseases. For example the plain radiographs that are ordered by primary care physicians for back pains may reveal the occult tumors. The easiest method for diagnosing cancer is a morphological exam. Histopathology provides for more definitive diagnosis of tumors that the most advanced and sophisticated imaging and laboratory techniques are unable to achieve.

Only in rare cases the biochemical and imaging methods prove to be better than the tissue sample’s microscopic examination. The referring physician/clinician helps in proper and accurate pathological diagnosis of the disease. As some diseases may have microscopic and morphological feature similar to cancer, the clinical review and information given by the requesting physician helps histo-pathologists in making more definitive diagnoses. A review of complete patient history is important and precedes the requests of all pathological evaluations.