A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Effect of freezing on histologic grading of invasive ductal breast cancer.
Authors: Kronqvist, Kuopio, Collan
Publication year: 2003
Journal: Analytical and Quantitative Cytology and Histology
Journal name in source: Analytical and quantitative cytology and histology
Journal acronym: Anal Quant Cytol Histol
Volume: 25
Issue: 1
First page : 47
Last page: 52
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0884-6812
Abstract
To quantify the histologic changes caused by freezing during tissue processing and their influence on histologic malignancy grading as a prognostic factor in invasive ductal breast cancer.\nWe studied frozen and nonfrozen formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 18 cases of invasive ductal breast cancer. Features associated with histologic malignancy grading of breast cancer--i.e., nuclear pleomorphism, mitotic index and tubular differentiation--were assessed by quantitative morphometric methods.\nIn our material, frozen samples consistently had a smaller mean nuclear profile area than nonfrozen samples (mean difference, 32%). Frozen nuclei were also clearly less symmetric and uniform in shape than non-frozen nuclei. Moreover, frozen samples had consistently higher mitotic indices than nonfrozen samples (mean difference, 66%, with the standardized mitotic index). Tubular differentiation, as expressed in fraction of fields with tubular differentiation, increased by 16% as a result of sample freezing.\nAccording to our results of morphometric measurement in invasive ductal breast cancer, great caution should be exercised when prognostic conclusions are based on frozen tissue samples.\nOBJECTIVE\nSTUDY DESIGN\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSION
To quantify the histologic changes caused by freezing during tissue processing and their influence on histologic malignancy grading as a prognostic factor in invasive ductal breast cancer.\nWe studied frozen and nonfrozen formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 18 cases of invasive ductal breast cancer. Features associated with histologic malignancy grading of breast cancer--i.e., nuclear pleomorphism, mitotic index and tubular differentiation--were assessed by quantitative morphometric methods.\nIn our material, frozen samples consistently had a smaller mean nuclear profile area than nonfrozen samples (mean difference, 32%). Frozen nuclei were also clearly less symmetric and uniform in shape than non-frozen nuclei. Moreover, frozen samples had consistently higher mitotic indices than nonfrozen samples (mean difference, 66%, with the standardized mitotic index). Tubular differentiation, as expressed in fraction of fields with tubular differentiation, increased by 16% as a result of sample freezing.\nAccording to our results of morphometric measurement in invasive ductal breast cancer, great caution should be exercised when prognostic conclusions are based on frozen tissue samples.\nOBJECTIVE\nSTUDY DESIGN\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSION
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