Appreciation: Professor Christopher Fletcher

Chris was a kind, thoughtful and generous friend for over 40 years. Both of us are deeply indebted to him.

He was a world-renowned surgical pathologist with great expertise in tumour pathology in general and soft tissue tumours in particular. Although he was initially drawn towards dermatopathology, he soon realised his real passion lay in soft tissue tumour pathology.

His career in the latter began when he was a trainee working on his Doctor of Medicine thesis. Utilising retrospective electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry of archival cases of so-called malignant fibrous histiocytoma, he demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of such tumours could be re-classified into more specific categories, including spindle cell squamous carcinoma, leiomyosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma among others. This was truly groundbreaking and paved the way for the better understanding and classification of soft tissue sarcomas.

Immediately after completing his training in pathology, he became a consultant at St Thomas’ Hospital in London and founded the Soft Tissue Tumour Unit in the early 1990s. On his own, with a single orthopaedic surgeon and a fellow, he managed to establish a world-class treatment and research centre that started attracting not only many consultation cases from the United Kingdom and abroad, but also pathologists from all over the world to train under his guidance and expertise. The unit flourished and grew with research grants that allowed him to cement his meteoric career.

During this time, he was granted a personal chair, becoming a professor. He was soon offered a post at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University in Boston, USA, where he established his ever-growing professional career until he took early retirement in 2022 to enjoy more time with his family.

He was not only a gifted pathologist and researcher but also a captivating orator. He was an amazingly witty, entertaining teacher and communicator, whose lectures around the world were always a sold-out phenomenon!

Chris’s career was quite remarkable, as evidenced by his breathtaking curriculum vitae listing approximately 600 original articles and over 150 review articles, chapters and books. He received innumerable distinguished honours, including the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) Young Investigator Award in 1997. He served as president of many international societies, including USCAP, and was chairman of the WHO working group for the classification of bone and soft tissue tumours. His textbook, Diagnostic Histopathology of Tumours, is in its 5th edition and is essential reading material for all tumour pathologists.

The side of Chris that only the privileged experienced was the care and attention that he showed to the residents and fellows that came under his tutelage. His sign-out sessions on over 5,000 soft tissue tumour consultations at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston were a delight for all. He treated even the most junior pathologist with kindness and courtesy.

Chris was a remarkable man who is sorely missed, although his legacy will live on.

Chris is survived by his partner Nina and his daughters Amy, Alexandra and Fenella.