PROGNOSTIC HISTOMORPHOMETRY IN COLORECTAL ADENOCARCINOMA

In order to examine the use of morphometry in the prog prognosis of co lorectal adenocarcinoma, histologic material from 30 patients was anal yzed. The volume-weighted nuclear volume (Vv(nuclei)), mean nucleolar diameters (d(nucleoli)) and their standard deviation (s(nucleoli)) wer e determined in each case. These variables were compared between patie nts who died of the disease and those who did not. Patients with disea se-free survival had larger Vv(nuclei) than did those who died of thei r disease (P<.02). These data suggest that a neoplastic specimen from colorectal adenocarcinoma may contain quantifiable nuclear characteris tics that may be prognostically useful.