Nuclear morphometry for the prediction of regional lymph nodes metastases in patients with cancer of the larynx

Abstract

The changes in cell nuclei reflect their activity. Quantitative morphometric analyses of tumor nuclei could be instrumental in providing prognostic information. We studied whether, and if so, which specific nuclear parameters and histoclinical factors in patients with cancer of the larynx could be related to the lymph node metastases. Specimens were taken from 61 patients surgically treated in the Department of Otolaryngology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland, between 1987 and 1988. The period between the onset of the first symptoms and the actual commencement of the treatment spanned no more than 9 months. The follow-up period was no shorter than 5 years. Histologically confirmed metastases in the regional lymph nodes were found in 16 patients. The histologic grading and tumor front grading was pursued in all cases. Fourteen parameters of the nuclei were studied with the aid of a computer-assisted system of image analysis. The morphometric parameters and the histoclinical factors were analyzed by the chi(2) test and the stepwise logistic regression. It was established that nuclear area > or =66 microm (P = 0.042), perimeter > or =32 microm (P = 0.087), optical density > or =22,500 (P = 0.027), long axis > or =10.15 microm (P = 0.025), short axis > or =7.3 microm (P = 0.003), TFG assessed (> or =15 points) and tumor advancement (T3, T4) were related to more frequent metastases to the lymph nodes. The morphometric parameters of the greatest significance were short axis and optical density. The quantitative morphometric analysis could prove a useful tool in predicting metastases to the lymph nodes.

Evaluation of Nuclear Morphometry in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study

“…Our result was in accordance to studies conducted by various authors. 8,[20][21][22][23][24][25] The metastasis to lymph nodes manifests when specific cellular and nuclear changes occur in tumor cells, which represent a distinctive clone. The tumor cells undergo certain changes phenotypically that aids in transportation of these cells to the lymphatic stream.…”

The role of computer-assisted analysis in the evaluation of nuclear characteristics for the diagnosis of precancerous and cancerous lesions by contact laryngoscopy

“…This is attributable to limited (or lack of) nuclei discrimination between these two groups. It was also reported in [11,16], that dysplasia and normal epithelium in histopathological image data cannot be correctly differentiated using nuclear morphometry analysis. The same is also true for contact endoscopic image data.…”

A computer-based approach to assess the perception of composite odour intensity: a step towards automated olfactometry calibration

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