Morphometric Characterization of Marginal Zone Lymphoma

The morphometry in histopathology is used to characterize cell populations belonging to different tissues and to identify differences in their parameters with prognostic implications. To achieve morphometric examination were selected 6 of 8 cases identified as marginal zone lymphoma. For each case analysis was done on five fields, for each field measuring the parameters of 20 cells. The studied parameters were for cytoplasm: cytoplasmic area, maximum and minimum cytoplasmic diameter, cytoplasmic perimeter; for nucleus were measured: nuclear area, minimum and maximum nuclear diameter, nuclear perimeter, nuclear contour index, nuclear ellipticity index, nuclear irregularity index. Also the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio was calculated in all studied cases. Marginal zone lymphoma is characterized in terms of morphometric parameters by small cytoplasmic and nuclear area, and small nucleo-cytoplasmatic ratio of about 1:1. Nuclear contour index is small, accompanied by a large ellipticity index and an small index of nuclear irregularity. Standard deviations for measured morphometric parameters are variable, having high values for cytoplasmic and nuclear area, highlighting the polymorphic nature of the cells. Morphometric aspects, with corresponding microscopic aspects of large and small lymphocyte proliferation with cleaved and uncleaved nuclei, fit this form of lymphoma in terms of clinical outcome in indolent lymphomas category.