Intrinsic Problems of the Nuclear Shape Factor Analysis

Metze, Konradin; Adam, Randall L.

doi:10.1007/dcr.0b013e3181ab822d

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In these reports, the degree of nuclear roundness was evaluated using nuclear area and square value of the perimeter (4 × π × nuclear area/ [perimeter] 2 ). Metze et al [19] indicated that the square value of the nuclear perimeter may considerably change with even small errors of measurements, resulting in poor reliability. We used maximum Feret diameter (maximum caliper) instead of the perimeter as one of the variables, which could improve data reliability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Merkel cell polyomavirus infection with morphologic differences in Merkel cell carcinoma

Kuwamoto¹,

Higaki²,

Kanai³

et al. 2011

Human Pathology

113

115

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Recently, it has been shown that approximately 80% of Merkel cell carcinomas harbor a novel polyomavirus named Merkel cell polyomavirus, thought to be a carcinogenic agent. However, it is not fully elucidated whether Merkel cell carcinomas differ with regard to the presence or absence of Merkel cell polyomavirus. To address this, we investigated morphologic differences between Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive and -negative Merkel cell carcinomas by morphometry. Using polymerase chain reaction and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Merkel cell polyomavirus was detected in 20 (77%) of 26 Merkel cell carcinoma cases, including 4 Merkel cell carcinomas combined with squamous cell carcinomas. Interestingly, Merkel cell polyomavirus was detected only in ordinary (pure) Merkel cell carcinomas; none of the 4 combined Merkel cell carcinomas + squamous cell carcinomas was positive for Merkel cell polyomavirus (P = .001). Morphometric analyses revealed that Merkel cell polyomavirus-negative Merkel cell carcinomas had more irregular nuclei (P < .001) and more abundant cytoplasm (P = .001) than Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive Merkel cell carcinomas, which had uniform round nuclei and scant cytoplasm. Reliability of the morphometry was confirmed using intraobserver and interobserver reliability tests. These results demonstrated statistically significant differences in tumor cell morphology between Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive and -negative Merkel cell carcinomas and reconfirmed the absence of Merkel cell polyomavirus in combined tumors. Furthermore, the results strongly suggest fundamental biological differences between Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive and -negative Merkel cell carcinomas, supporting that Merkel cell polyomavirus plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive Merkel cell carcinoma.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Merkel cell polyomavirus infection with morphologic differences in Merkel cell carcinoma

Kuwamoto¹,

Higaki²,

Kanai³

et al. 2011

Human Pathology

113

115

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“…In routine cytological preparations fractal derived variables are much less dependent on staining variations than variables derived from the grey-level co-occurrence matrix [61]. Form factors, which are classically used for the quantitative description of irregular outlines, depend highly on the magnification scale, whereas fractals are scale independent [62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fractal Characteristics of May-Grünwald-Giemsa Stained Chromatin Are Independent Prognostic Factors for Survival in Multiple Myeloma

et al. 2011

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BackgroundThe use of computerized image analysis for the study of nuclear texture features has provided important prognostic information for several neoplasias. Recently fractal characteristics of the chromatin structure in routinely stained smears have shown to be independent prognostic factors in acute leukemia. In the present study we investigated the influence of the fractal dimension (FD) of chromatin on survival of patients with multiple myeloma.MethodologyWe analyzed 67 newly diagnosed patients from our Institution treated in the Brazilian Multiple Myeloma Study Group. Diagnostic work-up consisted of peripheral blood counts, bone marrow cytology, bone radiograms, serum biochemistry and cytogenetics. The International Staging System (ISS) was used. In every patient, at least 40 digital nuclear images from diagnostic May-Grünwald-Giemsa stained bone marrow smears were acquired and transformed into pseudo-3D images. FD was determined by the Minkowski-Bouligand method extended to three dimensions. Goodness-of-fit of FD was estimated by the R2 values in the log-log plots. The influence of diagnostic features on overall survival was analyzed in Cox regressions. Patients that underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation were censored at the day of transplantation.Principal FindingsMedian age was 56 years. According to ISS, 14% of the patients were stage I, 39% were stage II and 47% were stage III. Additional features of a bad prognosis were observed in 46% of the cases. When stratifying for ISS, both FD and its goodness-of-fit were significant prognostic factors in univariate analyses. Patients with higher FD values or lower goodness-of-fit showed a worse outcome. In the multivariate Cox-regression, FD, R2, and ISS stage entered the final model, which showed to be stable in a bootstrap resampling study.ConclusionsFractal characteristics of the chromatin texture in routine cytological preparations revealed relevant prognostic information in patients with multiple myeloma.

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“…2 However, this procedure may modify considerably highly grey level-dependent texture features and thus masquerade real differences in staining intensity. Morphometric and texture features 8,9 were calculated and plotted against the loss of the nuclear area, which reached up to 30% of the original area. 7 2.…”

Section: Robust Variables In Texture Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%