QUANTITATIVE MEASURES IN BREAST CANCER PATHOLOGY

我们的目标是建立细胞形态计量学的预测标准 乳腺癌在I期疾病复发的可能性。几项研究 已经提出了个体形态测量的预后价值 乳腺癌的参数和偶尔的报道有 说明了这些变量在 与常规预后因素比较。然而，直到 现在需要特殊的标本处理，费力 用于定量细胞图像的方法和/或昂贵的计算机 分析已经限制了它的应用。 我们的方法是采用一种新的自动化分析形式 称为“语境分析”，它允许量化 架构特征，并将其与传统 计算机高分辨率单细胞分析。初步研究 表明上下文分析提供了信息 是对单细胞分析的补充。语境研究 特征将是这项研究的一个主要发展方面，因为 它们还没有被用来确定预后。 细针抽吸涂片和相应的组织活检 来自150多名I期疾病患者的样本， 跟踪超过5年，并被分析为相关 将使用组织学、临床和流行病学因素。 病例将在分期和治疗方面统一 协议。标本将从两个中心和 要素分析将由双方独立确认 实验室。因此，拟议的研究提供了一种新颖和 一种评估形态测量学优点的经济方法 I期乳腺癌预后。

Our goal is to establish cytomorphometric criteria for prediction of breast cancer recurrence in Stage I disease. Several studies have suggested the prognostic merits of individual morphometric parameters in breast cancer and occasional reports have illustrated the discriminatory power of these variables in comparison with conventional prognostic factors. However, until now the necessity for special specimen handling, laborious methods, and/or expensive computers for quantitative cell image analysis have limited the application. Our approach is to employ a new form of automated analysis termed "contextual analysis" which permits quantification of architectural features and combines them with conventional computer high resolution single cell analysis. Preliminary studies show that contextual analysis provides information complementary to single cell analysis. The study of contextual features will be a major developmental aspect of this study, since they have yet to be employed for determination of prognosis. Fine needle aspirate smears and corresponding tissue biopsy specimens from more than 150 patients with Stage I disease, followed over 5 years and being analyzed for pertinent histological, clinical and epidemiologic factors, will be employed. Cases will be unifrom with respect to staging and treatment protocols. Specimens will be acquired from two centers and feature analysis will be independently confirmed by both laboratories. Thus, the proposed study offers a novel and economical approach to assess the merits of morphometry in Stage I breast cancer prognosis.