[Morphometric parameters of malignant cells in non-leukemic hemoblastosis with primary lymph node involvement]

Morphometric studies were conducted to distinguish reactive and malignant lymphoid processes and to obtain a more objective and reproducible grading system for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). Twenty-three untreated patients (3 with reactive lymphadenitis, 2 with diffuse lymphomas, 18 with lymphosarcomas) were studied. The sections of lymph nodes were stained with 50% aqueous silver nitrate solution and then counter-stained with methylene blue. MOP-Videoplan (Reichert, Austria) image analyzer was used for morphometry. The size and shape of nucleus, number and position of nucleoli and the number of silver grains (K1) and relative size (K2) of each grain were investigated. The computer classification of lymphoid cells based on a stepwise linear discriminant analysis resulted in 63% correctly classified cells. Among seven most discriminating parameters, the nucleoli area and the number and size of silver grains demonstrated the highest correlation with malignancy. The data obtained have evidenced that nucleolar parameters can be applied to computer classification of lymphoid neoplastic cells and for objective grading of NHL.