Microcalcification morphological descriptors and parenchyma fractal dimension hierarchically interact in breast cancer: a diagnostic perspective
| Autor: | Linda Metaxa, Alessandro Giuliani, Alessandro Palombo, Giovanna Panzironi, Garima Verma, Mariano Bizzarri, Federica Pediconi, Virginia Todde, Maria Laura Luciani |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty Digital mammography Computer science Morphological pattern Biopsy Health Informatics Breast Neoplasms breast cancer digital breast tomosynthesis mammography screening breast neoplasms early detection of cancer evidence-based medicine Fractal dimension 030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Breast cancer Parenchyma medicine Image Processing Computer-Assisted Mammography Humans Aged medicine.diagnostic_test Calcinosis Middle Aged medicine.disease Computer Science Applications 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis Female Microcalcification Radiology medicine.symptom |
| Popis: | Introduction Herein, we propose a Systems Biology approach aimed at identifying quantitative morphological parameters useful in discriminating benign from malignant breast microcalcifications at digital mammography. Materials and methods The study includes 31 patients in which microcalcifications had been detected during XR mammography and were further confirmed by stereotactic (XR-guided) biopsies. Patients were classified according to the BIRADS (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System), along with their parenchyma fractal dimension and biopsy size. A geometrical-topological characterization of microcalcifications was obtained as well. Results The ‘size of biopsy’ was the parameter endowed with the highest discriminant power between malignant and benign lesions thus confirming the reliability of surgeon judgment. The quantitative shape evaluation of both lesions and parenchyma allowed for a promising prediction of the BIRADS score. The area of lesions and parenchyma fractal dimension show a complex distribution for malignant breast calcifications that are consistent with their qualitative morphological pattern. Fractal dimension analysis enables the user to obtain reliable results as proved by its efficiency in the prediction of the morphology of breast cancer. Conclusion By reconstructing a phase-space distribution of biophysical parameters, different patterns of aggregation are recognized corresponding to different calcium deposition patterns, while the combination of tissue and microcalcification morphological descriptors provide a statistically significant prediction of tumour grade. Clinical relevance The development of an automated morphology evaluation system can help during clinical evaluation while also sketching mechanistic hypotheses of microcalcification generation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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