HISTOLOGY AND CYTOLOGY MARKET ANALYSIS

Cytology can be defined as the microscopic study of cell sample, which can be collected from any part of the body such as lungs, vagina, kidney, and others to assess the presence of irregular growth or lumps on the body surface. Cytology can also be used to assess abnormal body fluids that may accumulate in areas such as chest and abdomen region. The most common technique used to collect cytology cell sample is fine needle biopsy, which is also called fine needle aspiration wherein, a sterile needle attached to an empty syringe is inserted into the target tissue such as skin lump, joint, and others to aspirate either cells or body fluid. Other sample collection techniques such as skin scrapping, cotton tipped swab, smear, and others may also be used for cytological studies. Cytology can be used as a preliminary diagnostic tool for detection of cancer. Histology can be defined as the microscopic study of structural and chemical properties of body tissues. Histology is used extensively in the field of biomedical research and clinical diagnostics to diagnose diseases such as cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammatory diseases and to develop novel therapeutics for these diseases.

The global histology and cytology market is estimated to be valued at US$ 16,253.0 million in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 13.35% over the forecast period (2021-2028).

Figure 1. Global Histology and Cytology Market Share (%), By Region, 2021

The increasing prevalence of cancer and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox, Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, and others is expected to drive growth of the global histology and cytology market over the forecast period.

For instance, according to the statistics provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018, around 570,000 women suffered from cervical cancer, while around 311,000 women died from cervical cancer, globally.

Furthermore, according to the American Cancer Society's (ACS) publications, Cancer Facts & Figures 2021, it is estimated that around 14,480 women would be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in the U.S. in 2021 while the number of deaths caused due to cervical cancer is estimated to be 4,290 for the year 2021.

Moreover, according to the statistics provided by the National Institute of Cancer (NIC), U.S., in 2018, the incidence rate of cervical cancer was found to be 7.5 per 100,000 women per year, and around 293,394 women suffered from cervical cancer in the U.S in 2018.

Figure 2. Global Histology and Cytology Market Value (US$ Mn), By Examination Type, 2021

The growing adoption of automation technology in histology and cytology is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

For instance, in September 2018, Koninklijke Philips N.V., a Netherland-based health technology provider launched a new version of its computational pathology software, Tissue Mark. The older version of Tissue Mark was limited to use in lung histology, lung cytology, colon, and breast tissue sample study, while the new version can also be used in automated detection of ovarian and prostate tumor within 60 seconds.

The increasing number of product launches and approvals is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

For instance, in January 2021, Biocare Medical LLC, a U.S.-based medical diagnostic solution provider launched ONCORE Pro, a fully automated slide staining platform used for applications in in-situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), two diagnostic techniques used in histology.

Global Histology and Cytology Market – Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic

Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19, as pandemic on March 11, 2020. According to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Weekly Epidemiological Update by the World Health Organization, over 193,657,725 cases and 4,154,660 deaths due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported till July 25, 2021, across the globe.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in various countries across the globe has negatively impacted the financial status of businesses across all sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire supply chain of the healthcare industry mainly due to strict lockdown in several regions. However, COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a positive impact on histology and cytology market in this COVID-19 pandemic, owing to partnerships between market players to develop novel methods for histological studies in COVID-19 infection, in order to understand the nature of the disease and assess its severity.

For instance, in September 2020, HistoWiz, Inc., a U.S.-based biotechnology company entered into a partnership with GeneTex, Inc., a U.S.-based biotechnology company to establish a number of validated antibodies for application in immunohistochemistry using human COVID-19 infected tissue sample.

Global Histology and Cytology Market Restraint

The stringent government regulations policies and complicated procedures associated with histology and cytology are the factors that are expected to hinder growth of the global histology and cytology market over the forecast period. For instance, according to an article published by the National center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in May 2021, histological specimen slide preparation involves a number of steps such as fixation, dehydration, embedding, sectioning, and others which can prove to be a complicated and time consuming task.

Key Players

Major players operating in the global histology and cytology market include Abbott, Hologic Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Southwest Precision Instruments, LLC, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Sysmex Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Danaher, Life Technologies Corporation, Merck KGaA,  Koninklijke Philips N.V., Perkin Elmer, and Trivitron Healthcare.