Measurement of chemopreventive efficacy in skin biopsies.
OBJECTIVE
To explore methods suitable for quantitative assessment of the efficacy of chemopreventive intervention.


METHODS
High-resolution imagery of nuclei from the suprabasal and basal cell layers of sun-damaged skin were recorded. There were 10 cases. A shave biopsy was taken from an area of clearly evident solar keratosis before and after treatment with 2-difluoromethyl-dlornithine (DFMO) and from the colateral forearm, treated with a placebo. A number of karyometric variables were computed and combined to derive marker features that provided a numeric measure of the degree of nuclear deviation from normal.


RESULTS
DFMO treatment was effective overall in reducing the degree of nuclear abnormality seen in the biopsies; in 8 of the 10 cases there was a significant improvement. The placebo-treated arm did not show a statistically different abnormality from the untreated arm.


CONCLUSIONS
Karyometric analysis can provide numeric measures that allow documentation of statistically significant regression of actinic keratotic lesions following treatment with DFMO.
Bozzo
P
P
Department of Surgery, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson 85724-05024, USA.
Alberts
D S
DS
Vaught
L
L
da Silva
V D
VD
Thompson
D
D
Warnecke
J
J
Miller
R C
RC
Einspahr
J
J
Bartels
P H
PH
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D000518:Eflornithine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D007620:Karyometry; D007642:Keratosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D010787:Photosensitivity Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013472:Sunlight / Q000009:adverse effects*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000518:Eflornithine