MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENTIATION IN HUMAN-BREAST CARCINOMA - TUMOR GRADING

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  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 107  (8) , 406-410
Abstract
Subjective grading systems suffer from limited reproducibility and do not assign a sufficiently large proportion of patients to the most predictive grades (1 and 3). In 50 cases of stage 1 or stage 2 mammary ductal carcinoma having at least 5-yr follow-up, the proportion of neoplastic cells showing glandular differentiation (DI) or remaining within ducts (IN) were quantitated. Patients who experienced recurrence had significantly less of both DI and IN, and the point at which 10% of neoplastic cells was composed of DI + IN appeared to be predictive for recurrence; i.e., 24 recurrences appeared among the 33 patients who had tumors with DI + IN < 10%, whereas none developed among the 14 patients having tumors with DI + IN > 10%. Only 3 patients could not be classified with this marker. Tumor stage and grade were independent variables. Reproducibility among 3 observers averaged 95%. The morphometric evaluation can be performed by a technician under the direction of a pathologist.