Nuclear texture features for classifying benign vs. dysplastic or malignant squamous epithelium of the larynx.

OBJECTIVE: To search for nuclear features and feature combinations able to assess malignancy and premalignant changes on tissue sections of laryngeal squamous epithelium. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 139 lesions of benign changes (BC) (n = 44), epithelial dysplasias (ED) (n = 50) and invasive laryngeal cancer (LC) (n = 45) were retrieved from archival pathology specimens. The goal of this study was to identify the best features or feature combinations that discriminate BC from LC and also reflect the degree of ED. In order to verify the results on independent data, the groups were split into two separate subgroups, one for training and one for testing. RESULTS: On the test set of slides, the overall correct classification of BC vs. LC cases was 82% using only one feature, fractal2_area. This classification rate could be increased to 91% when a discriminant function based on 10 features was used. However, this gain was not significant. CONCLUSION: Fractal texture features can be used to assess malignancy on tissue sections as an alternative to DNA measurement. In this study feature combinations did not significantly improve classification rates.

Specific changes of chromatin structure in nuclei of normal epithelium adjacent to laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. A preliminary study of 82 cases.

The aim of this study was to confirm the existence of specific nuclear texture feature alterations of histologically normal epithelial borders nearby invasive laryngeal cancer (NC). Paraffin sections of NC and of chronic inflammations unrelated to cancer (CI) were analysed for nuclear texture and for integrated optical density (IOD-index) and were compared to normal epithelium of patients without evidence of cancer (NE). Several discriminant functions based on nuclear texture features were trained to separate different subgroups. As the most important result, specific nuclear texture feature shifts were only found in NC with high-density lymphocytic stroma infiltrate (NC+). Classification of nuclei of NE versus NC+ was correct in 70%. The same classifier was correct in only 58% when nuclei of NE were classified versus CI. We also found lower values of IOD-Index within the NC+ group when compared to NE (p < 0.001).