Diagnostic marker features in dysplastic cells from the uterine cervix

A study of dysplastic cells, visually classified as non-keratinizing (DYSN), keratinizing (DYSK) or severely dysplastic from an area of metaplasia (DYSM), demonstrated statistically significant differences between the same type of cell depending on the diagnostic category of the patient in which it originated: cases with moderate dysplasia (MOD), severe dysplasia/carcinoma in situ (CSD) or invasive carcinoma (INV). The results suggest that the cell types should include an indication of their origin, that, e.g., DYSN is an insufficient designation and that such cells should be denoted as DYSN-MOD, DYSN-CSD or DYSN-INV; this has major implications for the collection of cell image data bases for quantitative cytology as well as for the effort to characterize patients' cytologic samples by "cytodiagnostic profiles." The results also indicate that the samples as a whole contain many clues to patient diagnosis; examples are given of diagnostic profiles and the related computergraphic displays for different patient categories.