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Quantitative nuclear morphology in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors of low malignant potential (borderline)
Author(s) -
Komitowski Dymitr,
Janson Catherine,
Szamaborski Josef,
Czernobilsky Bernard
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19890815)64:4<905::aid-cncr2820640424>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - malignancy , pathology , stromal cell , medicine , differential diagnosis , chromatin , biology , dna , genetics
Ovarian tumors of low malignant potential or of borderline malignancy are characterized histologically by the association of malignant type of epithelial proliferation with a noninvasive pattern of growth. Because epithelial proliferation relates to features of nuclear morphology and chromatin structure and because of the difficulties to distinguish nuclear atypism seen in borderline malignancy from that in frankly invasive tumors by usual microscopic study, the authors concentrated their studies exclusively on computerized analysis of cell nuclei images. Using specially developed methods of analysis the authors described geometrical, optical, and structural differences among the epithelial and stromal cell nuclei of benign, borderline, and malignant ovarian tumors. The structural differences concern the pattern of chromatin condensation and suggest that the cytokinetic properties of the borderline tumors are intermediate to those of benign and malignant. The results demonstrate that the quantitative evaluations provide objective and reproducible data useful in the differential diagnostic of the borderline malignancy.