Computer-assisted and visual methods of assessing cellular proliferation in tissue sections from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a comparison.

OBJECTIVE

To compare computer-assisted and visual methods of assessing cellular proliferation using tissue sections from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

STUDY DESIGN

The study group consisted of 20 specimens of NHL (10 indolent and 10 aggressive). Three-micrometer serial sections were prepared and labeled for Ki-67 (MIB1) and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs). Labeling was assessed by classic visual inspection and quantitative image analysis.

RESULTS

Computer-assisted and visual Ki-67 labeling indices were significantly higher in aggressive than indolent NHL and were linearly related (r = .850, P < .0001). Although the visual and computer-assisted AgNOR counts were significantly higher in aggressive than indolent NHL, the correlation between these two counting methods was not significant (r = .407, P < .075). Linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the Ki-67 visual labeling index and visual AgNOR count (r = .630, P < .003); however, no such relationship could be demonstrated between the remaining methods.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that visual and computer-assisted methods of immunohistochemical and AgNOR analysis may not yield comparable results. This fact may be related to the method of analysis and the computer-assisted technique.