title: Discrimination of squamous cell carcinoma in situ from seborrheic keratosis by color analysis techniques requires information from scale, scale-crust and surrounding areas in dermoscopy images.
abstract: Scale-crust, also termed "keratin crust", appears as yellowish-to-tan scale on the skin's surface. It is caused by hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis in inflamed areas of squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS, Bowen's disease) and is a critical dermoscopy feature for detecting this skin cancer. In contrast, scale appears as a white-to-ivory detaching layer of the skin, without crust, and is most commonly seen in benign lesions such as seborrheic keratoses (SK). Distinguishing scale-crust from ordinary scale in digital dermoscopy images holds promise for early SCCIS detection and differentiation from SK. Reported here are image analysis techniques that best characterize scale-crust in SCCIS and scale in SK, thereby allowing accurate separation of these two dermoscopic features. Classification using a logistic regression operating on color features extracted from these digital dermoscopy structures can reliably separate SCCIS from SK.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, IL 62026-1801, USA.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Shakya
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: LeAnder
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hinton
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stricklin
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Rader
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hagerty
authors.forename: W V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Stoecker
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D046169:Dermoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007633:Keratins / Q000737:chemistry; D017492:Keratosis, Seborrheic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D012372:ROC Curve; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D007633:Keratins