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Published on: April 9, 2019
Karyometry of the colonic mucosa
David S Alberts1, Janine G Einspahr, Robert S Krouse
1Arizona Cancer Center, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, 1515 North Campbell Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85724-5024, USA. dalberts@azcc.arizona.edu
Objective:
The study summarizes results of karyometric measurements in epithelial cells of the colorectal mucosa to document evidence of a field effect of preneoplastic development among patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma or adenoma.
Methods:
Karyometric analyses were done on high-resolution images of histologic sections from 48 patients with colorectal adenocarcinomas and 44 patients with adenomas and on images from matching normal-appearing mucosa directly adjacent to such lesions, at a 1-cm and 10-cm distance from the lesions or from the rectal mucosa of adenoma patients, as well as from 24 healthy normal controls with no family history of colonic disease.
Results:
The nuclei recorded in the histologically normal-appearing mucosa of patients with either colorectal adenoma or adenocarcinoma exhibited differences in karyometric features in comparison with nuclei recorded in rectal mucosa from patients who were free of a colonic lesion. These differences were expressed to the same extent in tissue adjacent to the lesions and in normal-appearing tissue as distant as the rectum.
Conclusions:
The nuclear chromatin pattern may serve as an integrating biomarker for a preneoplastic development. The field effect might provide an end point in chemopreventive intervention trials.
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