Key Points
Question
Can molecular markers of cancer be extracted from tissue morphology as seen in hematoxylin-eosin–stained images?
Findings
In this diagnostic study of tissue microarray hematoxylin-eosin–stained images from 5356 patients with breast cancer, molecular biomarker expression was found to be significantly associated with tissue histomorphology. A deep learning model was able to predict estrogen receptor expression solely from hematoxylin-eosin–stained images with noninferior accuracy to standard immunohistochemistry.
Meaning
These results suggest that deep learning models may assist pathologists in molecular profiling of cancer with practically no added cost and time.