Nuclear morphometry, epigenetic changes, and clinical relevance in prostate cancer, "Beyond the Abstract," by Robert W. Veltri, PhD and Christhunesa S. Christudass

BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - What does the future hold for the nucleus and the regulation of the structure and organization in cancer? An accurate measurement of the nucleus in all stages of cancer can be prognostic and a signal for active intervention. Therefore, the application of modern bioengineering computational science tools has made progress to quantify nuclear structure and tissue architecture to calculate rapid, reproducible, solutions for the prognosis of Prostate Cancer. Also, the arrival of rapid scanning microscopes has permitted quick progress.

Currently, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine we have utilized new available modifiable commercial image software that can automatically and rapidly process large cancer tissue image files for prognosis. Likewise, our research partners at Case Western Reserve University, under Dr. Anant Madabhushi, have developed self-configured software to conduct spatial topological texture features (such as fractals, wavelet and multiwavelet transforms, Voronoi diagram, Delaunay triangulation, and minimum spanning tree) to assess the tissue and nuclear architecture for prognosis.

Finally, today we now the bioinformatic tools necessary to permit high-dimensional data analysis of all types to be combined, allowing the generation of solutions that can be readily validated in appropriate clinical settings. Furthermore, to benefit patient management, these new prognostic tools will require full automation and technical and clinical validation in multisite studies for various specific outcomes of PCa such as active surveillance, biochemical recurrence, metastasis, and survival.

Written by:
Robert W. Veltri, PhD and Christhunesa S. Christudass as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com. This initiative offers a method of publishing for the professional urology community. Authors are given an opportunity to expand on the circumstances, limitations etc... of their research by referencing the published abstract.

The Brady Urological Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD USA

Nuclear morphometry, epigenetic changes, and clinical relevance in prostate cancer - Abstract

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