Various statistical methods in use for evaluating human malignant gastric specimens.

Abstract

This paper presents the use of certain statistical methods (comparison of means - independent samples t-test, multiple linear regression analysis, multiple logistic regression analysis, analysis of clusters, etc.) included in the SPSS Statistical Package used to classify the patients quantitatively evaluated after a subtotal resection of their stomachs. The group consisted of 40 patients subdivided into two groups: primary neoplasia of the stomach (20 patients), and corresponding lymphogenic deposits in the abdominal perigastric lymph nodes (20 patients). Paraffin-embedded tissue sections (thickness 4-5 microm) prepared as consecutive hematoxylin-eosin-stained slides were morphometrically measured by a rotation of a graduated eyepiece-micrometer; thus, we obtained the minor and major axes' lengths of the elliptic nuclear profiles and the minor and major caliper diameters of the corresponding cellular profiles. These four variables were used to determine the dynamic changes in quantitative features of human gastric lesions when passing from normal histological structures, through hyperplastic processes (chronic gastritis), gastric precancer (ulcers and polyps with or without malignancy) till the development of primary carcinomas and their corresponding lymphogeneous metastases. Besides the increased cytomorphometrical measures, we also noted an opportunity to classify the patients according to these data as well as to add to the knowledge of our consultation system for clinical aid and use, recently published in the literature.