Continuous representation of tumor microvessel density and detection of angiogenic hotspots in histological whole-slide images.

ABSTRACT: Blood vessels in solid tumors are not randomly distributed, but are clustered in angiogenic hotspots. Tumor microvessel density (MVD) within these hotspots correlates with patient survival and is widely used both in diagnostic routine and in clinical trials. Still, these hotspots are usually subjectively defined. There is no unbiased, continuous and explicit representation of tumor vessel distribution in histological whole slide images. This shortcoming distorts angiogenesis measurements and may account for ambiguous results in the literature. In the present study, we describe and evaluate a new method that eliminates this bias and makes angiogenesis quantification more objective and more efficient. Our approach involves automatic slide scanning, automatic image analysis and spatial statis

SUBMITTER: Kather JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4662482 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature