TY - JOUR A1 - Haghofer, Andreas A1 - Parlak, Eda A1 - Bartel, Alexander A1 - Donovan, Taryn A1 - Assenmacher, Charles-Antoine A1 - Bolfa, Pompei A1 - Dark, Michael A1 - Fuchs-Baumgartinger, Andrea A1 - Klang, Andrea A1 - Jäger, Kathrin A1 - Klopfleisch, Robert A1 - Merz, Sophie A1 - Richter, Barbara A1 - Schulman, F. Yvonne A1 - Janout, Hannah A1 - Ganz, Jonathan A1 - Scharinger, Josef A1 - Aubreville, Marc A1 - Winkler, Stephan M. A1 - Kiupel, Matti A1 - Bertram, Christof T1 - Nuclear pleomorphism in canine cutaneous mast cell tumors: Comparison of reproducibility and prognostic relevance between estimates, manual morphometry, and algorithmic morphometry JF - Veterinary Pathology N2 - 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 can improve reproducibility, but current manual methods are time-consuming. The aim of this study was to explore the limitations of estimates and develop alternative morphometric solutions for canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (ccMCTs). We assessed the following nuclear evaluation methods for accuracy, reproducibility, and prognostic utility: (1) anisokaryosis estimates by 11 pathologists; (2) gold standard manual morphometry of at least 100 nuclei; (3) practicable manual morphometry with stratified sampling of 12 nuclei by 9 pathologists; and (4) automated morphometry using deep learning–based segmentation. The study included 96 ccMCTs with available outcome information. Inter-rater reproducibility of anisokaryosis estimates was low (k = 0.226), whereas it was good (intraclass correlation = 0.654) for practicable morphometry of the standard deviation (SD) of nuclear size. As compared with gold standard manual morphometry (area under the ROC curve [AUC] = 0.839, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.701–0.977), the prognostic value (tumor-specific survival) of SDs of nuclear area for practicable manual morphometry and automated morphometry were high with an AUC of 0.868 (95% CI = 0.737–0.991) and 0.943 (95% CI = 0.889–0.996), respectively. This study supports the use of manual morphometry with stratified sampling of 12 nuclei and algorithmic morphometry to overcome the poor reproducibility of estimates. Further studies are needed to validate our findings, determine inter-algorithmic reproducibility and algorithmic robustness, and explore tumor heterogeneity of nuclear features in entire tumor sections. UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/03009858241295399 Y1 - 2024 UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/03009858241295399 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:573-53661 SN - 1544-2217 SN - 0300-9858 VL - 62 IS - 2 SP - 161 EP - 177 PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Glahn, Imaine A1 - Haghofer, Andreas A1 - Donovan, Taryn A1 - Degasperi, Brigitte A1 - Bartel, Alexander A1 - Kreilmeier-Berger, Theresa A1 - Hyndman, Philip S. A1 - Janout, Hannah A1 - Assenmacher, Charles-Antoine A1 - Bartenschlager, Florian A1 - Bolfa, Pompei A1 - Dark, Michael A1 - Klang, Andrea A1 - Klopfleisch, Robert A1 - Merz, Sophie A1 - Richter, Barbara A1 - Schulman, F. Yvonne A1 - Ganz, Jonathan A1 - Scharinger, Josef A1 - Aubreville, Marc A1 - Winkler, Stephan M. A1 - Bertram, Christof T1 - Automated Nuclear Morphometry: A Deep Learning Approach for Prognostication in Canine Pulmonary Carcinoma to Enhance Reproducibility JF - Veterinary Sciences N2 - The integration of deep learning-based tools into diagnostic workflows is increasingly prevalent due to their efficiency and reproducibility in various settings. We investigated the utility of automated nuclear morphometry for assessing nuclear pleomorphism (NP), a criterion of malignancy in the current grading system in canine pulmonary carcinoma (cPC), and its prognostic implications. We developed a deep learning-based algorithm for evaluating NP (variation in size, i.e., anisokaryosis and/or shape) using a segmentation model. Its performance was evaluated on 46 cPC cases with comprehensive follow-up data regarding its accuracy in nuclear segmentation and its prognostic ability. Its assessment of NP was compared to manual morphometry and established prognostic tests (pathologists’ NP estimates (n = 11), mitotic count, histological grading, and TNM-stage). The standard deviation (SD) of the nuclear area, indicative of anisokaryosis, exhibited good discriminatory ability for tumor-specific survival, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.80 and a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.38. The algorithm achieved values comparable to manual morphometry. In contrast, the pathologists’ estimates of anisokaryosis resulted in HR values ranging from 0.86 to 34.8, with slight inter-observer reproducibility (k = 0.204). Other conventional tests had no significant prognostic value in our study cohort. Fully automated morphometry promises a time-efficient and reproducible assessment of NP with a high prognostic value. Further refinement of the algorithm, particularly to address undersegmentation, and application to a larger study population are required. UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11060278 Y1 - 2024 UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11060278 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:573-48612 SN - 2306-7381 VL - 11 IS - 6 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -