The Belgian Society of Clinical Cytology is one of the 3 founding societies of the Belgian Society of Pathology (BSP), which was created in 2012. For the BSP, it has been renamed Cytology working group, although the full name is still in use for our membership of the European Federation of Cytology Societies (EFCS).
The BSCC was founded on the 16th December of 1963 and its statutes were published on the 2nd July of 1964. In the beginning the society was restricted to pathologists, but later on extended its membership to cytotechnicians, who are an important component of this society. Over the years, many meetings and courses have been organized. Antwerp was the host city of the 28th European Congress of Cytology in 2002. The spring meeting has always been devoted to cervico-vaginal cytology and the autumn meeting to non-gynecological cytology.
We still organize meetings twice a year with a special attention for CT’s. The spring meeting on cervical cytology is composed of a theoretical introduction followed by the possibility to look at slides on the microscope or digitally available. It is very hands-on, with emphasis on practical issues in interpreting cell morphology. The Saturday morning session of the Belgian week of Pathology has been devoted to cytology since it started. These sessions are designed for a broader public, but always include more practical parts.
The aim of our group, next to the organization of meetings, is to provide guidance for cytopathologists as well as cytotechnicians in regard to cervical screening policies, RIZIV-INAMI reimbursement and others. We are involved in the discussion on HPV primary screening versus co-testing.
For other uses of cytology in diagnostics we try to provide advice on techniques, diagnostic classifications and in general to keep up-to-date with new developments. In 2018, we were the host society for the yearly Cytology course of the EFCS.