Morphometric analysis of gastric adenoma and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma as a basis for microscopic discrimination.

Morphometric analyses were performed on 11 cases of well-differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma and six cases of gastric adenoma. The values for the mean nuclear area (AN), the index for roundness of the nucleus (FX), and the nucleus/cytoplasm ratio (N/C) were larger in the carcinoma group than in the adenoma group (P < 0.01; t-test). The value of nuclear numerical density (NA) was larger in the adenoma group than in the carcinoma group (P < 0.01; t-test). There was an overlap between the N/C ratio in the carcinoma and adenoma groups. It was concluded that roundness and enlargement of the nucleus, and a low nuclear density are important prerequisites for distinguishing the common type of adenocarcinomas from adenomas. An additional morphometric analysis was performed on seven cases of mucosal carcinoma. A three-dimensional discriminant analysis using AN, FX and NA revealed that of these seven cases, three were consistent with the carcinoma group while one case was consistent with the adenoma group. The remaining three cases were judged as borderline.