The 16th annual EFCS cytopathology tutorial took place in Halle, Germany, from 15 to 19 September 2025. Giovanni Negri chaired the event, while Maurizio Pinamonti was the co-chair. Ralf Heine was the local host.
Following the usual format, the tutorial comprised on-site microscopy workshops and lectures covering the most important topics in cytopathology. Sixty-five virtual slides were made available to participants in advance and discussed live at the end of each microscopy workshop using the eurocytology.cloud platform. Ten tutors from Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Finland were involved in the lectures, which covered nine topics: urine, breast, thyroid, respiratory tract, pancreas, serous effusion, salivary gland, lymph nodes and gynaecological cytology. Lectures on ROSE, molecular cytology, digital cytology and HPV were also included. All lectures were recorded, and participants will receive a link to view the presentations again.
The beautiful venue could accommodate sixty-six participants (cytotechnologists, residents and pathologists) from twenty different countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. They were a highly interested, interactive and receptive international group. Social activities were a highlight and included a welcome party, a get-together dinner with beautiful musical entertainment, and a stunning evening at the opera.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with most rating the overall quality of the event as well as the quality of the lectures and workshops as excellent. Overall, 97% of participants would recommend a future tutorial to a colleague and found the virtual slides helpful.
In summary, this was another highly successful tutorial, providing motivation to continue organizing these events in future years.