Karyometry in Barrett's esophagus.
OBJECTIVE
To derive a progression curve for lesions in Barrett's esophagus based on karyometric features.


METHODS
High-resolution imagery of 900 nuclei from normal gastric tissue, Barrett's metaplasia, Barrett's high grade dysplasia and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus was recorded. Karyometric features were computed, and nuclear signatures and lesion signatures for these lesions were derived. A progression curve was defined.


RESULTS
Esophageal lesions were distinctly different from the normal gastric fundus tissue, with nuclei from Barrett's metaplasia deviating from normal almost as much as nuclei from high grade dysplasia and adenocarcinoma. There was considerable case-to-case variability and overlap between lesions histologically assigned to different diagnostic categories.


CONCLUSIONS
The karyometric data suggest that Barrett's metaplasia is a more developed lesion than previously assumed.
Department of Pathology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
V D
VD
da Silva
J C
JC
Prolla
P
P
Sharma
R
R
Sampliner
D
D
Thompson
P H
PH
Bartels
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D019044:Image Cytometry; D007620:Karyometry; D008679:Metaplasia / Q000473:pathology; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure