title: Measurement of chemopreventive efficacy in skin biopsies.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson 85724-05024, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bozzo
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Alberts
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaught
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Warnecke
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Einspahr
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Bartels
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000518:Eflornithine