Image Analysis-Assisted Nuclear Morphometric Study of Benign and Malignant Breast Aspirates.

BACKGROUND: Fineneedle aspiration cytology of the breast is well accepted and accurate for the diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions, however, it remains a subjective evaluation. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The present study was carried out to assess the utility of nuclear morphometry in differentiating benign and malignant breast aspirates. Importantly, we wanted to evaluate the utility of nuclear density parameters using Image J software. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nuclear morphometry was carried out using image analysis software Image J 1.44 on 20 selected benign and malignant breast aspirates. Assessment was carried out on a total of 1000 cells in benign and 1000 cells in malignant aspirates counting 50 intact nuclei in nonoverlapping cells for each case. Six parameters including three size parameters, namely nuclear area, nuclear diameter, and nuclear perimeter; one shape parameter, i.e., axis ratio; and two nuclear chromasia parameters, namely density (integrated and raw), were measured. RESULTS: There were significant differences between nuclear area, perimeter, diameter, integrated density, and raw integrated density of benign and malignant lesions. No significant difference was found for axis ratio. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that nuclear area, perimeter, diameter, integrated density, and raw integrated density are helpful in discriminating benign and malignant aspirates. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, Image J is helpful in the evaluation of nuclear size as well as chromasia. We conclude that nuclear size and density parameters can be used to derive cutoff values of various parameters to differentiate between benign and malignant cells in breast cytology.

A study of blood utilization in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring blood utilization helps in effective management of blood stock to meet present and future demands in a hospital. Hence, we analyzed the age, gender and frequency distribution of each blood product used in different diseases conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included all blood products utilized from January 2008 to December 2012 in our tertiary care hospital in South India. The primary and secondary discharge diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10]) were matched with clinical information provided in the request forms. The most relevant indication requiring blood transfusion was selected for each recipient and grouped into broad diagnostic categories according to the headings of ICD-10. The utilization of stored whole blood, packed red blood cells (RBCs), fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and platelets was stratified according to age, gender and diagnosis. RESULTS: Our results indicated decline in usage of whole blood and an increase in use of FFP and platelets over the years. While packed RBCs were frequently used for treating injury and poisoning conditions, platelets and FFP were preferred for infectious and parasitic diseases. Various blood products were used less frequently in patients aged over 60 years and the overall usage of blood products was higher in males. CONCLUSION: The patterns of blood products utilization is in contrast to the Western nations, which may be due to difference in age structure among Indian population and higher prevalence of infectious diseases such as Dengue in our region. Nevertheless, this study highlights the importance of understanding the epidemiology of blood transfusion locally to improve usage of blood and blood products.

A rare case report of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycotic cyst caused by Exophiala oligosperma in an immunocompetent host with literature review.

We report a rare case of phaeohyphomycotic cyst in an immunocompetent patient caused by Exophiala oligosperma. This fungus is earlier known to cause infections in the immunocompromised. Identification of black fungi at species level is more challenging by conventional methods, and hence final identification of the fungi was based on sequencing of rDNA. The patient was managed with surgical excision. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of E. oligosperma human infection from India.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma: a clinicopathological and cytomorpholgical study from a tertiary care centre in Chennai, India.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) cases occurring in Indian patients and also study the utility of the crush smear preparation in intraoperative diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The immune status, clinical, radiological details, immunohistochemical profile, histopathological findings and cytological features in smear preparation of 32 cases of PCNSL were analyzed. Patients with systemic NHL and skull-base lymphomas were excluded. RESULTS: The mean age of our patients was 52 years with a male: female ratio 1:1. A periventricular location was found in 62.5% of patients. None of our PCNSL cases were associated with AIDS. All cases except one were diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Intraoperative diagnosis using crush smears allowed correct prediction in 93% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that PCNSL is seen predominantly in immunocompetent patients in India .The age of presentation is relatively young as compared to the West. Our study also stresses the utility of crush smear preparation in establishing an intraoperative diagnosis.

Practical value of MIB-1 index in predicting behavior of astrocytomas.

BACKGROUND: The MIB-1 labeling index (LI) has proved to be useful in assigning grading and prognosis to astrocytomas. The purpose of our study was to analyze the utility of MIB-1 LI in differentiating astrocytomas of varying grades and the possible relationships of MIB-1 LI with clinical parameters like age and sex. We also wanted to study the prognostic role of MIB-1 index in predicting behavior of astrocytomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study included 145 patients with astrocytic tumors of varying grades. Immunolabeling for all patients was done using MIB-1 antibody. Survival data could be obtained for 64 patients. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the difference in MIB-1 LI between different histological grades. The univariate analysis was done by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the multivariate analysis for survival was performed using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Significant differences were noted in mean MIB-1 LI of high-grade and low-grade diffuse astrocytomas. MIB-1 LI did not vary significantly with age and sex. Univariate analysis showed favorable prognostic factors for low histopathological grade, young patient age and low MIB-1 LI; however, multivariate analysis showed that only histopathological grade had independent prognostic significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our study proves that MIB-1 LI is not dependent on factors like age and sex and is solely dependent on histological grade. Though the average level of MIB-1 LI varies considerably in the different grades of astrocytomas, considerable overlap can be observed between them. MIB-1 LI is a very useful adjunct to the histopathological diagnosis and can be of great help in situations where the clinical and radiological findings do not correlate with histological diagnosis.

The role of immunohistochemistry in predicting behavior of astrocytic tumors.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the significance of p53, bcl-2 and EGFR expression in the grading and biological behavior of astrocytic tumors, especially in the Indian population. A total of 117 cases of astrocytomas graded using the WHO grading system published in 2007 were immunolabeled using p53, EGFR and bcl-2 monoclonal antibodies and analyzed with respect to grade and other relevant parameters. The 117 cases included 16 cases of pilocytic astrocytomas and 25, 15 and 61 cases of diffuse fibrillary astrocytomas WHO grade II, anaplastic astrocytomas WHO grade III and glioblastomas (GBM), respectively. Our results showed that p53 alterations is an early event in astrocytic gliomagenesis, but is not significant in the evolution of pilocytic astrocytomas. Bcl-2 expression did not correlate with grade and no statistical correlation was seen with p53 expression. EGFR protein expression correlated with the severity of tumor grade. Of the GBM cases, 47.5% were p53 positive only, 18% were EGFR positive only, 16.5% were negative for both and 18% were positive for both. The mean age in the dual positive category was significantly higher when compared to the others. EGFR and p53 alterations are not mutually exclusive and might act synergistically to promote progression. We also noted a significantly higher p53 expression in females in GBMs. Though most of our findings correlated with those of previous studies, some differences were noted, especially in the pattern of immunoexpression in GBMs, perhaps because of ethnicity.