@unpublished{HaghoferParlakBarteletal.2023, author = {Haghofer, Andreas and Parlak, Eda and Bartel, Alexander and Donovan, Taryn and Assenmacher, Charles-Antoine and Bolfa, Pompei and Dark, Michael and Fuchs-Baumgartinger, Andrea and Klang, Andrea and J{\"a}ger, Kathrin and Klopfleisch, Robert and Merz, Sophie and Richter, Barbara and Schulman, F. Yvonne and Ganz, Jonathan and Scharinger, Josef and Aubreville, Marc and Winkler, Stephan M. and Kiupel, Matti and Bertram, Christof}, title = {Nuclear Morphometry using a Deep Learning-based Algorithm has Prognostic Relevance for Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors}, publisher = {arXiv}, address = {Ithaca}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2309.15031}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Variation in nuclear size and shape is an important criterion of malignancy for many tumor types; however, categorical estimates by pathologists have poor reproducibility. Measurements of nuclear characteristics (morphometry) can improve reproducibility, but manual methods are time consuming. In this study, we evaluated fully automated morphometry using a deep learning-based algorithm in 96 canine cutaneous mast cell tumors with information on patient survival. Algorithmic morphometry was compared with karyomegaly estimates by 11 pathologists, manual nuclear morphometry of 12 cells by 9 pathologists, and the mitotic count as a benchmark. The prognostic value of automated morphometry was high with an area under the ROC curve regarding the tumor-specific survival of 0.943 (95\% CI: 0.889 - 0.996) for the standard deviation (SD) of nuclear area, which was higher than manual morphometry of all pathologists combined (0.868, 95\% CI: 0.737 - 0.991) and the mitotic count (0.885, 95\% CI: 0.765 - 1.00). At the proposed thresholds, the hazard ratio for algorithmic morphometry (SD of nuclear area ≥9.0μm2) was 18.3 (95\% CI: 5.0 - 67.1), for manual morphometry (SD of nuclear area ≥10.9μm2) 9.0 (95\% CI: 6.0 - 13.4), for karyomegaly estimates 7.6 (95\% CI: 5.7 - 10.1), and for the mitotic count 30.5 (95\% CI: 7.8 - 118.0). Inter-rater reproducibility for karyomegaly estimates was fair (κ = 0.226) with highly variable sensitivity/specificity values for the individual pathologists. Reproducibility for manual morphometry (SD of nuclear area) was good (ICC = 0.654). This study supports the use of algorithmic morphometry as a prognostic test to overcome the limitations of estimates and manual measurements.}, language = {en} } @article{HaghoferFuchsBaumgartingerLipniketal.2023, author = {Haghofer, Andreas and Fuchs-Baumgartinger, Andrea and Lipnik, Karoline and Klopfleisch, Robert and Aubreville, Marc and Scharinger, Josef and Weissenb{\"o}ck, Herbert and Winkler, Stephan M. and Bertram, Christof}, title = {Histological classification of canine and feline lymphoma using a modular approach based on deep learning and advanced image processing}, volume = {13}, pages = {19436}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46607-w}, year = {2023}, abstract = {AbstractHistopathological examination of tissue samples is essential for identifying tumor malignancy and the diagnosis of different types of tumor. In the case of lymphoma classification, nuclear size of the neoplastic lymphocytes is one of the key features to differentiate the different subtypes. Based on the combination of artificial intelligence and advanced image processing, we provide a workflow for the classification of lymphoma with regards to their nuclear size (small, intermediate, and large). As the baseline for our workflow testing, we use a Unet++ model trained on histological images of canine lymphoma with individually labeled nuclei. As an alternative to the Unet++, we also used a publicly available pre-trained and unmodified instance segmentation model called Stardist to demonstrate that our modular classification workflow can be combined with different types of segmentation models if they can provide proper nuclei segmentation. Subsequent to nuclear segmentation, we optimize algorithmic parameters for accurate classification of nuclear size using a newly derived reference size and final image classification based on a pathologists-derived ground truth. Our image classification module achieves a classification accuracy of up to 92\% on canine lymphoma data. Compared to the accuracy ranging from 66.67 to 84\% achieved using measurements provided by three individual pathologists, our algorithm provides a higher accuracy level and reproducible results. Our workflow also demonstrates a high transferability to feline lymphoma, as shown by its accuracy of up to 84.21\%, even though our workflow was not optimized for feline lymphoma images. By determining the nuclear size distribution in tumor areas, our workflow can assist pathologists in subtyping lymphoma based on the nuclei size and potentially improve reproducibility. Our proposed approach is modular and comprehensible, thus allowing adaptation for specific tasks and increasing the users' trust in computer-assisted image classification.}, language = {en} }