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Three Dimensional Cultures: A Tool To Study Normal Acinar Architecture vs. Malignant Transformation Of Breast Cells
Published on: April 25, 2014
Three dimensional staging of breast cancer
I L Wapnir1, D E Wartenberg, R S Greco
1Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick 08903, USA.
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Accurate breast cancer tumor volume calculation is crucial for staging. Using the ellipsoid formula, rather than a simple sphere model, provides a more precise measurement, impacting tumor staging and patient classification.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Breast cancers are rarely spherical, presenting as three-dimensional irregular shapes.
- Traditional volume calculations often rely on the greatest diameter, which may not accurately represent the true tumor size.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of different geometric models in calculating breast tumor volume.
- To determine the impact of using a more accurate volume calculation on tumor staging.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 165 invasive breast carcinomas with three measured diameters.
- Calculated tumor volume using spherical, prolate spheroid, oblate spheroid, and ellipsoid models.
- Stratified tumors by the TNM staging system and analyzed differences in volume calculations.
Main Results:
- Only 3.6% of tumors were spherical; 46.1% had three distinct diameters.
- The sphere formula significantly overestimated tumor volume compared to the ellipsoid formula (p < 0.05).
- Volume overestimation increased with tumor size, leading to reclassification of 41 tumors into smaller T subclasses.
Conclusions:
- The greatest diameter alone poorly reflects true breast tumor volume and consistently overestimates it.
- The ellipsoid formula accurately calculates volume for three-dimensional tumors.
- Accurate volume calculation using the ellipsoid formula is relevant for staging small invasive breast cancers.
