Deep Learning Enables Spatial Mapping of the Mosaic Microenvironment of Myeloma Bone Marrow Trephine Biopsies

Bone marrow trephine biopsy is crucial for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. However, the complexity of bone marrow cellular, morphologic, and spatial architecture preserved in trephine samples hinders comprehensive evaluation. To dissect the diverse cellular communities and mosaic tissue habitats, we developed a superpixel-inspired deep learning method (MoSaicNet) that adapts to complex tissue architectures and a cell imbalance aware deep learning pipeline (AwareNet) to enable accurate detection and classification of rare cell types in multiplex immunohistochemistry images. MoSaicNet and AwareNet achieved an AUC of >0.98 for tissue and cellular classification on separate test datasets. Application of MoSaicNet and AwareNet enabled investigation of bone heterogeneity and thickness as well as spatial histology analysis of bone marrow trephine samples from monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS) and from paired newly diagnosed and posttreatment multiple myeloma. The most significant difference between MGUS and newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) samples was not related to cell density but to spatial heterogeneity, with reduced spatial proximity of BLIMP1+ tumor cells to CD8+ cells in MGUS compared with NDMM samples. Following treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, there was a reduction in the density of BLIMP1+ tumor cells, effector CD8+ T cells, and regulatory T cells, indicative of an altered immune microenvironment. Finally, bone heterogeneity decreased following treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. In summary, deep learning-based spatial mapping of bone marrow trephine biopsies can provide insights into the cellular topography of the myeloma marrow microenvironment and complement aspirate-based techniques.

Spatial analysis of bone marrow trephine biopsies using histology, deep learning, and tailored algorithms reveals the bone marrow architectural heterogeneity and evolution during myeloma progression and treatment.