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Associate Professor Director of Anatomic Pathology Director of Breast Pathology

Research Interests

In my diagnostic work, I focus on breast surgical pathology and the interpretation of hormone receptor and HER2 studies. My initial exposure to breast pathology was in my residency with Dr. Daryl Carter at Yale and fellowship with Dr. David Page at Vanderbilt. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, I worked at Cleveland Clinic as a Staff Pathologist, Assistant Professor of Pathology and the Director of Breast Pathology. Prior to Cleveland Clinic, I practiced breast pathology and served as the Medical Director of Surgical Pathology at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Many of my projects and publications focus on breast core biopsy pathology with an emphasis on risk-associated lesions (e.g. atypical ductal hyperplasia, atypical lobular hyperplasia, radial scars). The studies are multidisciplinary in design, emphasizing central pathology review, correlation with radiologic findings and outcomes after surgical excision. For various risk-associated lesions, we have examined two aspects of breast cancer risk: 1) the risk of an immediate upgrade to carcinoma in an initial diagnostic excisional biopsy, and 2) the subsequent risk of developing carcinoma in either breast for patients who are not upgraded on excision. Other studies have focused on HER2 testing with an emphasis on: 1) the criteria for classifying cases as equivocal and the evidence for or against the use of alternative chromosome 17 probes to resolve those cases, and 2) correlating HER2 testing results in specimens from cytopathology and surgical pathology.

Recent Publications

Donaldson AR, McCarthy C, Goraya S, Pederson HJ, Sturgis CD, Grobmyer SR, Calhoun BC. Breast Cancer Risk Associated with Atypical Hyperplasia and Lobular Carcinoma in Situ Initially Diagnosed on Core Needle Biopsy. Cancer. Accepted for publication September 11, 2017.

Doxtader E, Calhoun BC, Sturgis CD, Booth CN. HER2 FISH Concordance in Breast Cancer Patients with Both Cytology and Surgical Pathology Specimens. J Am Soc Cytopathol. Accepted for publication September 11, 2017.

Wang H, Altemus J, Niazi F, Green H, Calhoun BC, Sturgis CD, Grobmyer SR, Eng C. Breast Tissue, Oral and Urinary Microbiomes in Breast Cancer. Oncotarget. Accepted for publication July 8, 2017.

Zhang G, Ataya D, Lebda PL, Calhoun BC. Mucocele-Like Lesions Diagnosed on Breast Core Biopsy: Low Risk of Upgrade and Subsequent Carcinoma. The Breast Journal. Accepted for publication February 16, 2017.

Donaldson AR , Shetty S, Wang Z, Rivera CL, Portier BP, Budd GT, Downs-Kelly E, Lanigan CP, Calhoun BC. Impact of an Alternative Chromosome 17 probe and the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of American Pathologists Guidelines on Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization for the Determination of HER2 Gene Amplification in Breast Cancer. 2017;123:2230-2239.

Calhoun BC, Collins LC. Recommendations for Excision Following Core Needle Biopsy of the Breast: A Contemporary Evaluation of the Literature. Histopathology. 2016;68:138-51.

Calhoun BC, Sobel A, White RL, Gromet M, Flippo T, Sarantou T, Livasy CA. Management of Flat Epithelial Atypia on Breast Core Biopsy May be Individualized Based on Correlation with Imaging Studies. Mod Pathol 2015;28:670-676.

Calhoun BC, Collins LC. Predictive Markers in Breast Cancer: An update on ER and HER2 Testing and Reporting. Semin Diagn Pathol. 2015;32:362-9.

List of publications from PubMed

Benjamin C. Calhoun