Histometry and the H.O.M.E. concept: an aid to the grading of intra-cervical neoplasia?

The view has been expressed that few quantitative methods are of value to the pathologist in purely diagnostic work. Quantitative systems are perceived as too large for the average reporting room, too time consuming to learn, very expensive to buy and quick to become obsolete. Further, the software supplied usually cannot provide fully automated analysis, and user interaction is often tedious. If measurement techniques have little value in diagnosis they may have a role in assessing the prognosis of tumours. High levels of inter- and intra-observer variation in tumour grading have been reported and quantitative methods have been used to reduce this and more emphasis has been placed on the measurement of changes in tissue architecture, which may help to reduce observer variation. This paper describes such a method based on cell sociology, which has been implemented on a quantitative microscope specifically designed for use in the routine diagnostic pathology environment. The results of a preliminary study on grading cervical intraepithelial neoplasia show a significant difference between all groups (P less than 1 x 10(-5)) and a linear trend for the measurement of Area Disorder (P less than 1 x 10(-5)).