Breast Health - Pathology

Pathologists are specialized physicians  who play a crucial role in determining how a patient’s disease is treated, and are an integral member of The Breast Center team at Milford Regional.

Pathologists examine tissue to determine if there are  cancer cells present. Although  pathologists have always examined breast tissue at Milford Regional, The Breast  Center makes communicating pathology findings easier and more streamlined. During bi-weekly breast conferences and  special tumor board meetings, the entire team meets to discuss individual  patient cases. The Breast Center allows the  pathologist to ask all of the treating doctors what information they may need, and in turn, all of the treating doctors can hear the answers and formulate a consensus treatment plan. The Breast Center facilitates  continual communication among the team members which accelerates the treatment  process.

Although patients rarely encounter the surgical pathologist involved in their care, we pathologists at Milford Regional’s Breast Center spend a lot of time thinking behind the scenes about our patients. Knowing that an accurate and timely diagnosis is a critical factor in developing a treatment plan and optimizing outcomes, we have designed our workflow to streamline breast pathology evaluation, so that the vast majority of new diagnoses will be finalized and personally communicated to the clinician on the day after biopsy.

We have extensive experience in surgical pathology with an average of about 30 years in practice, and each of us has trained at a Harvard-affiliated institution. Furthermore, as we are all members of the Brigham & Women’s Department of Pathology, we have the world-renowned academic leaders of breast pathology at BWH / Harvard Medical School available for consultation on any and all difficult cases, should the need arise.

Agoston (Tony) Agoston, MD, PhD, FACAP
Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Milford Regional Medical Center

Dr. Agoston is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, Associate Pathologist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Faulkner Hospital, and Consultant Pathologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry with Departmental Honors and University Distinction, and then obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He then pursued residency training in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he served as chief resident, and then completed a fellowship in Gastrointestinal Pathology.

In addition to primary and collaborative pathology research activity, Dr. Agoston is involved in teaching pathology residents and fellows, and is Director of the Anatomic Pathology Residency Core Rotation at Brigham & Women’s Faulkner Hospital. He has also served as co-chair of the Partners Anatomic Pathology Information Technology Council. Dr. Agoston has extensive experience in breast pathology evaluation from his time on service at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Faulkner Hospital which are both affiliates of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Mark Mangano, M.D., FCAP
Assistant Medical Director, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Milford Regional Medical Center

Dr. Mangano is an Associate Pathologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He  graduated from Cornell University with Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Biology, cum laude, and with Distinction in All Subjects. He received his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine.  Subsequently, he finished an internship and residency at Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he served as chief resident and completed a fellowship in Surgical Pathology.

 Dr. Mangano is Board Certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Hematology and Clinical Chemistry and has been a member of the Milford Regional Medical Staff for nearly 20 years. He has been involved with the Breast Center and a member of the Breast Cancer Steering Committee since its inception.