title: Quantitative electron microscopy in the diagnosis of mycosis fungoides. A simple analysis of lymphocytic nuclear convolutions.
abstract: In the present study we compared the accuracy of three different ultrastructural methods used to confirm clinically proved cases of mycosis fungoides (MF) from skin biopsy specimens. Method 1 is a qualitative method and confirmed the diagnosis of MF in only 44% of the patients with MF. Method 2 involved image analysis of lymphocytic nuclei and confirmed the diagnosis of MF in only 67% of the patients with MF. The most sensitive ultrastructural method for confirming the diagnosis of MF was a simple scoring of the number of sharply angled nuclear invaginations in 100 lymphocytes (method 3). Control biopsy specimens had many more lymphocytes (19% to 55%) with no sharply angled nuclear invaginations compared with those from patients with MF (3% to 15%). The clinical diagnosis of MF was confirmed in 100% of our patients with MF using method 3.
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D002452:Cell Count; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000556:secondary / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013997:Time Factors