Abstract
Fine needle aspirates (FNA) after estrogen receptor (peroxidase- antiperoxidase) immunostaining were imaged using a SAMBA system. Integrated optical density (IOD) and mean optical density (MOD) was measured in individual nuclei. Receptogram R Analytic software on a remote VAX computer was used to generate log-log scatter, contour and three-dimensional perspective plots of bivariate MOD vs. IOD relationships and for count- dependent Gaussian smoothing of the univariate log histograms. The findings revealed four types of staining patterns among otherwise estrogen receptor immunostaining-positive patients: (I) a discrete, homogeneous subpopulation with unimodal MOD and IOD distributions; (II) coexistent subpopulations of ER+ and ER - cells, revealed by bivariate MOD and IOD distributions; (III) multiple, discrete subpopulations of ER+ cells, revealed in perspective plots of MOD vs. IOD vs. scatter density; and (IV) highly skewed distributions forming a continuum over a broad MOD and IOD range with or without an ER- negative subpopulation. FNA ER-ICA-positive specimens were indistinguishable based upon average nuclear MOD (AV-MOD) or AV-MOD x (%ER-positive cells). Previous evaluation of such patterns in tissue sections revealed failure of tamoxifen response in types II and IV. Staining mosaicism (IV) may correspond to a failure of receptor modulation within defined limits when ER is rendered nonfunctional due to various structural modifications of receptor domains- events that would not affect immunostaining. Failure in type II is ascribed to ascendancy of estrogen-independent ER-negative subpopulations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 293-305 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Analytical and Quantitative Cytology and Histology |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 4 |
State | Published - 1994 |
Keywords
- aspiration biopsy
- breast neoplasms
- immunohistochemistry
- receptors, estrogen
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anatomy
- Histology