Morphometric characteristics in adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND

Morphometric analysis whereby size and form of cellular nuclei are transformed into quantities has previously been shown to be a valuable adjunct to the histopathologic differential diagnosis between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma. The present study aims to assess the clinical value of morphometry performed on cytologic material from benign and malignant pancreatic lesions.

METHODS

Cytologic specimens from 100 patients with the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma and 15 patients with chronic pancreatitis were evaluated by interactive morphometry using a digital image analyzer system.

RESULTS

There were significant differences (p < 0.001) for all morphometric variables between the malignant and benign groups (mean area p 50, 135.41 microns 2 versus 69.66 microns 2; anisokaryosis, 0.74 versus 0.41; and polymorphism, 0.13 versus 0.09).

CONCLUSIONS

Morphometry may be used as a complementary tool in the cytologic diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.