Computerized morphometric analysis of human leukemic and lymphomatous cells in various histological environments of...

The leukemic and lymphomatous cells appear within the central nervous system (CNS) in 5 different environments: in CNS vessels, perivascular spaces, meninges, nervous tissue and in CNS hemorrhages. A computerized analysis of geometric and densitometric parameters of neoplastic cells in these compartments were done for better recognition of penetration and spreading of leukemia and lymphoma within the CNS. A post-mortem neuropathological investigations were carried out on 16 patients deceased due to acute myeloblastic leukemias (M1, M2), blastic phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia, lymphoblastic lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Following nuclear parameters of neoplastic cells were analyzed: area, "form factor", mean, minimal and maximal density. An evident differentiation of nuclear parameters within the CNS environments was found. The nuclei within the perivascular spaces and especially in CNS hemorrhages were significantly shrunken and dense (p < 0.01), but not evidently deformed. The intracerebral infiltrates appeared to be most differentiated group (p < 0.01). Morphometric values of leukemic and lymphomatous cells show regressive changes of neoplastic cells within the CNS perivascular spaces, nervous tissue and in CNS hemorrhages. These changes depend on unfavorable factors in the mentioned CNS environments, and also on time of cell persistence in these regions. Meninges were found to be the only CNS structure facilitating the survival and proliferation of leukemic and lymphomatous cells.