title: Estimation of cell density to aid in assessment of percentage cells of a particular lineage or of cells expressing a specific antigen in bone marrow trephine biopsies.
abstract: The authors aimed to develop a tool to assess total cell numbers in a microscope's field of vision, which would provide the denominator for calculating the percentage of positive cells for a given antigen in bone marrow trephine biopsies (BMTBs) of varying cellularities. Precise estimates of cell densities were made from 179 images of BMTBs of varying cellularities using a cell-counting software. The estimates were then validated on an independent set of 20 BMTBs. Among the 179 images, there was a strong linear association between marrow cellularity and cell numbers (Pearson correlation: 0.788). Then standardised cell densities (cells/mm(2) of bone marrow) were deduced for BMTBs of varying cellularities. In the validation study, the actual and the estimated cell numbers correlated strongly (Pearson correlation: 0.990). The cell density estimates provided in this study can be adapted for any microscope and the same method can be used for calculation of the percentage-positive cells for any antigen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, & Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Shieban
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Tadrous
authors.forename: Kikkeri N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Naresh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000941:Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001706:Biopsy / Q000295:instrumentation; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D001856:Bone Marrow Examination; D002452:Cell Count; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014207:Trephining / Q000295:instrumentation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D015415:Biomarkers