Jingu Ryotaro, Ohki Masafumi, Watanabe Sumiko, Tamiya Sadafumi, Sugishima Setsuo, Kaku Tsunehisa
Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan.
Acta Cytol. 2011;55(5):455-9. doi: 10.1159/000330672. Epub 2011 Oct 8.
We previously reported on the classification of the nuclear chromatin distribution into 3 types, that is peripheral (P), mixed (M) and central (C), which were related to the malignancy of cervical glandular lesions. However, the classification was subjective as it was performed by visual assessment. In the present study, quantitative assessment of nuclear chromatin distribution using image analysis by computer was applied for objective classification of cervical squamous epithelial lesions, which are the most common cervical lesions.
A total of 130 cells (44 cells of type P, 78 of type M and 8 of type C) from cytological specimens of cervical squamous epithelial lesions (dysplasia, squamous cell carcinoma) were analyzed. An image analysis program was developed as a plug-in macro program of an existing image processing software. The radial distribution (RD) value, which represents the gradient of the staining intensity from the center to the edge of a nucleus, was defined as an index of the chromatin distribution.
The RD values calculated in type P, type M and type C cells showed significant statistical differences as assessed by the t test (p < 0.001).
Quantification of the nuclear chromatin distribution by image analysis is fast and highly objective. The RD value could be useful as an index for malignancy.
我们之前报道过将核染色质分布分为3种类型，即周边型（P）、混合型（M）和中央型（C），这与宫颈腺性病变的恶性程度相关。然而，该分类是主观的，因为它是通过视觉评估进行的。在本研究中，应用计算机图像分析对核染色质分布进行定量评估，以对最常见的宫颈病变——宫颈鳞状上皮病变进行客观分类。
对宫颈鳞状上皮病变（发育异常、鳞状细胞癌）细胞学标本中的130个细胞（P型44个细胞、M型78个细胞和C型8个细胞）进行分析。开发了一个图像分析程序作为现有图像处理软件的插件宏程序。将代表细胞核中心到边缘染色强度梯度的径向分布（RD）值定义为染色质分布指数。
通过t检验评估，P型、M型和C型细胞计算出的RD值显示出显著的统计学差异（p < 0.001）。
通过图像分析对核染色质分布进行定量快速且高度客观。RD值可作为恶性程度的一个指标。
