The role of nuclear morphometry in prediction of prognosis for rhabdomyosarcoma in children

Autor: Adam Reich, Michał Jeleń, Bernarda Kazanowska, Alicja Chybicka, W Tarnawski
Rok vydání: 2004
Předmět:
Zdroj: Histopathology. 45:352-359
ISSN: 1365-2559
0309-0167
Popis: Aims : To determine whether nuclear morphometry can be used in pretreatment diagnostic procedures to guide the therapy of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Materials and methods : Biopsy specimens obtained from 108 patients with rhabdomyosarcoma aged between 1 and 217 months treated in 12 paediatric oncology departments in Poland were evaluated. There were 65 (60.2%) specimens of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (RME), 32 (29.6%) of alveolar RMS (RMA) and 11 (10.2%) cases of undifferentiated RMS (RMU). The clinical data from all analysed patients were evaluated. Nuclear morphometry was performed semiautomatically on haematoxylin–eosin-stained sections using the MultiScan v.8.08 Computer Scanning System and an Olympus BX 50 microscope with a × 40 magnification lens. Results : In the RMA subtype cells with spindle-shape nuclei were less common (P = 0.013) and cell nuclei were generally more round in comparison with RME (P = 0.033). The clinical outcome was better if the nuclei seen in biopsies of RMS were more spindle-shaped (event-free survival 0.51 and 0.23, respectively; P = 0.04) or more cells with spindle-shaped nuclei were observed (event-free survival 0.5 and 0.28, P =0.035). RME patients with small nuclei had a better outcome then patients with large nuclei (P = 0.014). In the RMA/RMU group, patients with small tumour cell nuclei had a worse prognosis than patients with larg tumour cell nuclei (P = 0.046). Conclusions : Nuclear morphometry is a useful tool in the assessment of children with RMS. Additionally, certain morphometric parameters could be easily applied in a selection of patients with good prognosis.
Databáze: OpenAIRE