Pathology is a unique medical specialty, often misperceived as being limited to disease classification based on morphology. However, modern pathologists are central to patient care, collaborating with various medical specialties and bridging basic and clinical research with patient management. They play an integral role in multidisciplinary meetings, contributing to diagnosis, risk stratification, prognosis, biomarker assessment, and clinical trial eligibility [1]. Efficient communication and active involvement in these processes are essential [2].

With the rise of precision medicine, pathologists are increasingly integrating clinical, imaging, macroscopic, histologic, and molecular data. They are pivotal in implementing advanced technologies like digital pathology, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics for big data analysis (“omics”), liquid biopsies, and clinical performance of circulating biomarkers, among others [3]. Consequently, pathologists must assert their role in multidisciplinary patient management teams, research groups, and clinical guideline development, while actively participating in clinical trials and scientific societies and communicating their practice and contributions in clinical congresses.

In this Editorial, we aim to highlight key areas where pathologists should be actively engaged as members of the professional multidisciplinary team (MDT) optimizing patient care (Fig. 1).

Key areas where pathologists should be actively engaged as members of the professional multidisciplinary team (MDT) optimizing patient care