Publications

19 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 19

Abstract (Expand)

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignant skin cancer. For a deeper insight into the specific growth patterns of the tumorous tissue in BCC, we have focused on the development of a novel automated image-processing chain for 3D reconstruction of BCC using histopathological serial sections. For fully automatic delineation of the tumor within the tissue, we apply a fuzzy c-means segmentation method. We used a novel multi-grid form of the non-linear registration introduced by Braumann and Kuska in 2005 effectively suppressing registration runs into local minima (possibly caused by diffuse nature of the tumor). Our method was successfully applied in a proof-of-principle study for automated reconstruction.

Authors: P. Scheibe, U. D. Braumann, J. P. Kuska, M. Loffler, J. C. Simon, U. Paasch, T. Wetzig

Date Published: 1st Jul 2010

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: basal cell carcinoma

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND: Radical hysterectomy based on empirical surgical anatomy to achieve a wide tumour resection is currently applied to treat early cervical cancer. Total mesometrial resection (TMMR) removes the embryologically defined uterovaginal (Mullerian) compartment except its distal part. Non-Mullerian paracervical and paravaginal tissues may remain in situ despite their possible close proximity to the tumour. We propose that in patients with early cervical cancer, the resection of the Mullerian compartment will lead to maximum local tumour control with low morbidity. We also propose that the relatively high rate of pelvic failure after conventional radical hysterectomy, despite adjuvant radiation, might be a consequence of the incomplete removal of the Mullerian compartment. The aim of our study was to test these hypotheses. METHODS: We did a prospective trial to assess the effectiveness of TMMR without adjuvant radiation in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IB, IIA, and selected IIB cervical cancer. We also generated MRI-based pelvic relapse landscapes from patients who had experienced pelvic failure after conventional radical hysterectomy. FINDINGS: 212 consecutive patients underwent TMMR without adjuvant radiation. 134 patients (63%) had high-risk histopathological factors. At a median follow-up of 41 months (5-110), three patients developed pelvic recurrences, two patients developed pelvic and distant recurrences, and five patients developed distant recurrences. Recurrence-free and overall 5-year survival probabilities were 94% (95% CI 91-98) and 96% (93-99), respectively. Treatment-related grade 2 morbidity was detected in 20 (9%) patients, the most common being vascular complications. Resection of the Mullerian compartment resulted in local tumour control irrespective of the metric extension of the resection margins. The pelvic topography of the peak relapse probability after conventional radical hysterectomy indicates an incomplete resection of the posterior subperitoneal and retroperitoneal extension of the Mullerian compartment. INTERPRETATION: Resection of the embryologically defined uterovaginal compartment seems to be pivotal for pelvic control in patients with cervical cancer. TMMR without adjuvant radiation has great potential to improve the effectiveness of surgical treatment of early-stage cervical cancer. FUNDING: University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

Authors: M. Hockel, L. C. Horn, N. Manthey, U. D. Braumann, U. Wolf, G. Teichmann, K. Frauenschlager, N. Dornhofer, J. Einenkel

Date Published: 2nd Jun 2009

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: L. C. Horn, B. Hentschel, U. D. Braumann

Date Published: 30th Aug 2008

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate spatial tumor invasion using ex vivo specimens and pursue a new morphometric approach for a quantitative assessment of the invasion front. STUDY DESIGN: Based on histologic serial sections with up to 500 slices stained with hematoxylin-eosin, volumes of interest of the tumor invasion front were 3-D reconstructed for 13 specimens from patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix. Starting from very sensitive automatic tumor segmentation, 404 presumptive loci of isolated tumor islets were detected within the reconstructed volume data sets. These loci were microscopically inspected on the slides utilizing the volume date set's coordinates. RESULTS: A single detached tumor cell cluster within the stroma could be verified and, additionally, 4 tumor emboli within lymph vessels. The main cause of all other suspect islets (false positive segmentations) was peritumoral inflammatory response. Spatial invasion front quantification was done using discrete compactness (3-D C(D)). A comparison with 2-D C(D) values from single slides yielded strong correlation (correlation coefficient: r = 0.94; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Collective migration in SCC of the cervix mainly occurs per continuitatem. 2-D C(D) appears adequate and applicable for the morphometry of tumor invasion front phenotypes.

Authors: J. Einenkel, U. D. Braumann, L. C. Horn, J. P. Kuska, M. Hockel

Date Published: 9th Nov 2007

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVES: A proof of principle study was conducted for microscopic tissue volume reconstructions using a new image processing chain operating on alternately stained large histological serial sections. METHODS: Digital histological images were obtained from conventional brightfield transmitted light microscopy. A powerful nonparametric nonlinear optical flow-based registration approach was used. In order to apply a simple but computationally feasible sum-of-squared-differences similarity measure even in case of differing histological stainings, a new consistent tissue segmentation procedure was placed upstream. RESULTS: Two reconstructions from uterine cervix carcinoma specimen were accomplished, one alternately stained with p16(INK4a) (surrogate tumor marker) and H&E (routine reference), and another with three different alternate stainings, H&E, p16(INK4a), and CD3 (a T-lymphocyte marker). For both cases, due to our segmentation-based reference-free nonlinear registration procedure, resulting tissue reconstructions exhibit utmost smooth image-to-image transitions without impairing warpings. CONCLUSIONS: Our combination of modern nonparametric nonlinear registration and consistent tissue segmentation has turned out to provide a superior tissue reconstruction quality.

Authors: U. D. Braumann, N. Scherf, J. Einenkel, L. C. Horn, N. Wentzensen, M. Loeffler, J. P. Kuska

Date Published: 17th Oct 2007

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

Abstract (Expand)

The invasion front pattern of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a conspicuous histological phenomenon, which is assessed without precise criteria. The current study was performed to introduce the classical (C(C)) and discrete compactness (C(D)) as new morphometric parameters for quantification of this pattern. A retrospective analysis of 76 surgically treated patients with cervical carcinoma was conducted and the pattern of invasion was qualitatively classified as closed, finger-like or diffuse, respectively, by two pathologists. After digitization of the histological slides with a field of view of 10.4 mm x 8.3mm, tumor areas were labeled and C(C) and C(D) were computed based on the drawings (binary images). Additionally, intraindividual variation of compactness was evaluated for 12 selected tumors. The qualitative pattern assessment by the pathologists was moderately reproducible with an interobserver agreement of 72% and a kappa coefficient of 0.44. The values of C(C) and C(D) referring to the invasion front patterns assigned by both pathologists were significantly different between the three classified groups (p< or =0.01 and p< or =0.0001), so that, both theoretically and in practice, compactness regards the same morphological feature. In due consideration of the analysis of the area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curves and the variation coefficient of different tumor regions, C(D) is more suitable for practical use than C(C). Tumors with a microscopic invasion into the parametria and with lymph-vascular space invasion were found to have a lower value of C(D), which indicates a more diffuse pattern of invasion (p=0.028 and p=0.033). We conclude that the discrete compactness C(D) is a new and reproducible parameter for a computer assisted quantification of the invasion front pattern and, thus, defines a further phenotypic feature of SCC of the uterine cervix.

Authors: J. Einenkel, U. D. Braumann, L. C. Horn, N. Pannicke, J. P. Kuska, A. Schutz, B. Hentschel, M. Hockel

Date Published: 25th May 2007

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND: Malignant growth and invasiveness of cancers is a function of both intratumoral and stromal factors. The accessibility to nutrients, oxygen and growth factors, the stromal composition, and the interference with the immune system all shape the tumor invasion front. A recent study has shown a prognostic difference with respect to different invasion patterns analyzed on histological specimens of cervical cancers. The present study analyzes the spatial organization of a cervical cancer and the relation of the tumor invasion front and the infiltration with CD3(+) T-cells. METHODS: From a cervical squamous cell carcinoma specimen, 84 serial sections were performed and three interleaving series were stained with hematoxylin/eosin and immunohistochemistry directed against the cervical carcinoma biomarker p16(INK4a) and the T-cell marker CD3. Sections were passed through an image processing chain to obtain a reconstructed and segmented tissue volume. For local tumor invasion front analysis the mean curvature was used, which in turn was related to the respective local minimum tumor to T-cell distance as well to a T-cell originated diffusing substance's concentration at the tumor surface. RESULTS: Spatial models of the tumor tissue and the infiltrating T-cells were computed. The overall discrete compactness of the tumor invasion front was 0.89, corresponding to a pathological assessment of diffuse infiltration. The comparison of the tumor invasion front with the density of T-cell infiltration revealed an increased smoothening in regions with high T-cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: We could demonstrate the spatial organization of a cervical cancer and model the interaction between infiltrating T-cells with the tumor invasion front shape. Increased smoothening in regions with high T-cell infiltration suggests that T-cells may have an influence on the shaping of the tumor invasion front, e.g., by attacking tumor cells displaying specific antigens. The applied technique allows visualization of the spatial organization of tissues and could be extended to analyze multiple stains on alternating sections.

Authors: N. Wentzensen, U. D. Braumann, J. Einenkel, L. C. Horn, M. von Knebel Doeberitz, M. Loffler, J. P. Kuska

Date Published: 7th Feb 2007

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: cervical cancer

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