Cell adhesion is crucial in the process of tumour progression. As integrins are important receptor molecules involved in cell adhesion, we studied the distribution of the alpha 1-6, alpha v, alpha IIb, beta 1, beta 3, and beta 4 integrin subunits in tissue sections of common naevocellular naevi (n = 22), dysplastic naevi (16), thin (24) and thick primary cutaneous melanomas (28), and melanoma metastases (25). We found correlated expression of alpha 1/alpha 2, of alpha 4/alpha 5/beta 3, and of alpha 6/beta 4. Decrease of alpha 6 and beta 4, and increase of alpha 4 and alpha v were found to be correlated with melanoma progression. Furthermore, expression of alpha 5 and beta 3 was detected only in primary melanoma and melanoma metastasis. Our findings indicate that during melanoma progression alterations in integrin expression occur, the most striking being emergence of alpha 5 beta 1 fibronectin and alpha v beta 3 vitonectin receptor.

Cytophotometric analysis was performed in nuclei retrieved from paraffinembedded cervical tissue from 57 cases of CIN 111. CIN 111 lesions of patients without invasive squamous cell carcinoma (N = 37) were regarded to represent a mixture of progressive and nonprogressive lesions. The CIN 111 lesions of patients with a synchronous invasive squamous cell carcinoma (N = 20) were regarded as representing truly progressive precursor lesions (C1N.INV). Twenty-one photometric features describing geometrical, density, and texture characteristics were extracted from the digitized nuclear images. Statistical analysis of cytophotometric data indicated significant differences between the group of CIN 111 lesions and CIN.INV lesions. A cluster analysis, using one co-occurrency texture feature (S-HOMOG), one density feature (S-DI), and two geometrical features (S-AREA and M-CIRC), showed that two clusters (Cl and C2) were present in the total group of CIN 111 and CIN.INV lesions. The vast majority of CIN.INV lesions was member of one and the same cluster C1. The CIN I11 group appeared to consist of a mixture of two clusters, 54% C1 and 46% C2 lesions. Of patients 45 years or younger, the majority (62%) of CIN 111 lesions had feature values, corresponding with those of cluster Cl, and as such possibly with a potentially progressive course. In patients older than 45 years the percentage of CIN 111 lesions with C1 feature values was 27%.

Cytophotometric analysis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade I11 (CIN 111) was performed in 22 cytological smears (CS) and in 22 corresponding cytospin specimens retrieved from selected areas of paraffin-embedded tissues (PEC). The average time interval between cytological and histological diagnosis was 6 weeks. CIN I11 nuclei in CS and PEC specimen were Thionin-Feulgen stained and digitized. Beside the visual classification of DNA ploidy patterns, the 2 . 5~ and 5c exceeding rates and the specimen mean and standard deviation values of 21 photometric features were also analyzed. It was shown that, although there was a significant correlation between DNA ploidy patterns in corresponding PEC and CS specimen, the DNA patterns were dissimilar in eight of 22 cases. The DNA index, as represented by 2 . 5~ and 5c exceeding rates, was significantly higher in the CS specimen. High-resolution cytophotometric analysis of cell nuclei in CS and PEC specimens showed significant differences for a large number of nuclear photometric features. These findings can possibly be explained by differences in selection of CIN I11 cells from CS and PEC specimens and by differences between fixation procedures as used for the two techniques. It was concluded that cytophotometric data of CS and PEC specimens representing CIN I11 lesions should not be regarded as interchangeable.

Three different methods of fixation (ethanol/Carbowax, formaldehyde, and Carnoy) and four different protocols (without Böhm post‐fixation on an uncoated slide, and with Böhm post‐fixation on Poly‐L‐Lysine coated slide, an uncoated slide and a previously Papanicolaou stained slide) were evaluated for their application in high resolution image analysis of Feulgen stained nuclei. The aim of the study was to find a combination with the best reproducibility and the least variance under normal laboratory conditions. Care was taken not to exclude any “normal” laboratory variability. The combinations were evaluated for densitometric, geometric, as well as texture features. Selected features were determined on a CAS‐100 using the Cell Measurement Program (Cell Analysis Systems, Inc. Lombard, IL). Diploid and tetraploid rat liver nuclei were used. Ethanol/Carbowax fixation‐with Böhm post‐fixation proved most stable. This fixation method also gave feature values for previously Papanicolaou stained slides that were comparable to direct Feulgen stained nuclei. Acceptable results were achieved with all three fixatives and the various combinations if one adhered strictly to protocol. In routine practice this usually does not happen. Therefore Ethanol/Carbowax fixation with Böhm post‐fixation was considered most suited for routine determination of feature values on the CAS‐100. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

The chromatin pattern of retrospectively Feulgen-Schiff-stained exfoliative urothelial cells was determined by computer-assisted analysis for 12 detailed texture image parameters. These were compared with density parameters and geometric parameters for their ability to discriminate between benign and malignant samples. The discriminatory power of the mean variable of the texture parameter sum variance was found to equal that of densitometric parameters which reflect the nuclear DNA content of the cell. The results suggest that determination of the texture parameter sum variance is valuable in distinguishing nuclei of specimens negative from those positive for malignancy.