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PubMed · 9648904

Comparative study of computer-assisted image analysis and light-microscopically determined estrogen receptor status of breast carcinomas.

J Bejar·E Sabo·I Misselevich·S Eldar·J H Boss
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Efficient tamoxifen treatment of breast cancer patients depends on the degree to which pathologists are consistently able to use the so-called "modified quickscore" method to differentiate between negative and low-grade positive scores based on the current four-grade scale of the estrogen receptor (ER) status of the tumors. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively test pathologists' ability to adequately render correct readings of the ER status of breast tumors. METHODS: The ER status of breast carcinomas was estimated by two pathologists and measured by computer-supported analysis in sections stained with ER antibody by the immunoperoxidase technique. Levels of agreement between the examiners' semiquantification and histomorphometrically gauged measurements were compared statistically. RESULTS: The kappa coefficients were 0.28 on a case-by-case collation of the grades of nuclear staining, 0.52 on applying binary categories of positively versus negatively stained cell nuclei, and 0.89 using binary categories with a weighted score of 1.2 to separate ER-negative from ER-positive breast carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that an optimum rating system is achieved by assigning tumors with a weighted score of 1.2 or less to the ER-negative and those with a weighted score of 1.3 or more to the ER-positive category of breast carcinomas.

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Breast NeoplasmsCell NucleusHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedImmunoenzyme TechniquesReceptors, EstrogenSoftwareComparative StudyJournal Article

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J Bejar, E Sabo, I Misselevich, S Eldar, J H Boss. 1998. Comparative study of computer-assisted image analysis and light-microscopically determined estrogen receptor status of breast carcinomas.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9648904/

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