The updated 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System (CNS) has incorporated molecular parameters into pathological diagnosis, for the first time in the molecular era. While it has led to the more precise diagnoses of well-understood entities and the better comprehension of less-understood entities, its practical application has also created some concerns whether or not genotypes predominate over phenotypes in tumor diagnostics. In response to these concerns, the Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy-Not Official WHO (cIMAPCT-NOW) was established under the sponsorship of the International Society of Neuropathology to provide a forum to evaluate and recommend proposed changes to future CNS tumor classifications. cIMPACT has thus far published five updates on the proposal and clarification of existing and new terms and entities. Also, recent studies have shown that WHO grading based on histology has lost its prognostic relevance, which necessitates novel, improved grading criteria. We herein highlight the current status of clinical application of WHO 2016 classification and cIMPACT proposals, and the future endeavor to incorporate DNA methylation profiling of the CNS tumors for better clinical decision-making to achieve a goal of precision medicine for each patient with brain tumors.
Keywords: 2016 WHO CNS; Diffuse gliomas; Pediatric-type gliomas; WHO grading (3–6 words); cIMPACT-NOW.