Morphometric computer-assisted image analysis of epithelial cells in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts 94% of all malignant lesions in the oral cavity. In the assessment of OSCC, nowadays the WHO grading system has been followed widely but due to its subjectivity, investigators applied the sophisticated technique of computer-assisted image analysis in the grading of carcinoma in larynx, lungs, esophagus, and cervix to make it more objective.

Access, analyze, and compare the cellular area (CA); cytoplasmic area (Cyt A); nuclear area (NA); nuclear perimeter (NP); nuclear form factor (NF); and nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio (N/C) of the cells in different grades of OSCC.

Fifty OSCC cases were obtained and stained with hematoxylin and eosin which were graded according to the WHO classification. The sections were subjected to morphometric analysis to analyze all the morphometric parameters in different grades of OSCC and subjected to one-way ANOVA statistical analysis.

CA and Cyt A decreased from normal mucosa with dedifferentiation of OSCC. The NA and NP increased in carcinoma group when compared to normal mucosa but decreased with dedifferentiation of OSCC (P < 0.05). NF had no significance with normal mucosa and different grades of OSCC (P > 0.05), while N/C ratio increased from normal mucosa through increasing grades of OSCC, reaching the highest value in poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (P < 0.05).

Both cellular and nuclear variables provide a more accurate indication of tumor aggressiveness than any single parameter. Morphometric analysis can be a reliable tool to determine objectively the degree of malignancy at the invasive tumor front.