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Histopathology and cytology

Our services A-Z

The Histopathology Department Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) provides a comprehensive range of histological and cytological pathological services. These services include the routine and specialised examination of tissue samples (including immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy), diagnostic screening of body fluids and aspirates, and coroner's autopsies.

These services are fully supported and led by Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) registered consultant clinical staff and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered senior biomedical scientists.

Opening hours

The Histopathology Department is open for the routine examination of specimens from 08:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday and on Saturday for deliveries from 09:00 to 12:00.

Contact details

Departmental Clinical Lead: Dr Michael Eden

Histopathology Manager: Zahrah Rosun

Contact Histopathology and cytology via its Enquiries line

Telephone: 01223 217163

Email the enquiries line.

Histopathology service update

The Histopathology department has had its accreditation to ISO15189:2012 re-instated following its August 2024 assessment.

Due to a significant increase in the number Histopathology investigations since the end of the COVID pandemic the Cambridge Histopathology laboratory has not been meeting the turnaround time reporting standards to which we aspire:

  • 80% within 7 days
  • 90% within 10 days
  • 95% within 21 days

An improvement programme has been implemented and the laboratory is working on a number of initiatives to increase capacity. This includes the use of digital imaging (replacing microscopy) and automated microtomy on some samples. These are outside the current scope of accreditation.

Cases referred to the Histopathology laboratory are classified as ‘cancer pathway’ (CP) where the clinician thinks that cancer may be a possibility, or ‘non-cancer pathway’ (non-CP) for routine cases. Information on the current turnaround time (TAT) performance is shown below.

Monthly Cancer Pathway TAT (Turnaround time)

Histo CP TAT Mar 25
7 Day TAT 10 Day TAT 21 Day TAT Number of Cases Total Slides
2024
Sep 67.56% 81.17% 95.80% 4716 30906
Oct 67.33% 80.46% 96.36% 3741 26157
Nov 67.15% 80.21% 96.18% 3951 28585
Dec 65.85% 79.42% 96.16% 4510 31251
2025
Jan 73.81% 85.48% 96.96% 3547 23602
Feb 64.30% 80.62% 96.79% 3983 27396
Mar 65.44% 79.42% 96.04% 4850 34021

Monthly Non-Cancer Pathway TAT (Turnaround time)

Histo Routine TAT Mar 25
7 Day TAT 10 Day TAT 21 Day TAT Number of Cases Total Slides
2024
Sep 40.22% 54.39% 90.78% 2951 13506
Oct 50.25% 65.58% 92.04% 2426 10619
Nov 48.89% 71.55% 94.61% 2207 10149
Dec 53.14% 69.80% 91.84% 2550 12321
2025
Jan 64.09% 80.39% 94.79% 2055 9627
Feb 53.02% 74.84% 94.79% 2305 10502
Mar 54.47% 74.10% 91.29% 3042 14598

For professionals

More information is available to staff via the Histopathology page on Connect (opens in a new tab) (login required), including the Histopathology user handbook.