Nuclear long diameter as a new criterion to distinguish high-grade urothelial carcinoma cells from benign reactive cells

ObjectiveRecently, the nuclear area has attracted attention as a morphological parameter to differentiate high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) cells from benign reactive cells. The nuclear long diameter (NLD) strongly correlates with the nuclear area and is easy to subjectively estimate. Therefore, this study examined the usefulness of the NLD-to-neutrophil diameter ratio for detecting HGUC cells in urine cytology.MethodsThis study included 29, 26 and 18 patients with HGUC, glomerular disease and urolithiasis respectively. An image analysis system was used to measure the NLD of HGUC and benign reactive cells (reactive renal tubular cells and reactive urothelial cells) and the neutrophil diameter that appeared in the voided urine in these cases. The NLD index was calculated using the NLD-to-neutrophil diameter ratio. We subsequently compared HGUC and benign reactive cells with respect to NLD and NLD indices. In addition, the HGUC cell group and benign reactive cell group were compared by selecting the five cells with the largest NLD and NLD index on each slide.ResultsThe NLD and NLD indices of HGUC cells were significantly higher than those of benign reactive cells in all cells and in the five cells with the largest NLD and NLD indices. The cut-off value of the NLD index for detecting HGUC cells was 1.25 in all cells and 1.80 in the five cells with the largest NLD index.ConclusionsThe NLD index is a useful parameter that can be introduced into routine microscopic examinations to differentiate HGUC cells from benign reactive cells. The NLD index is useful for differentiating HGUC cells from benign reactive cells. The NLD index can be introduced in routine microscopic examinations and is expected to improve the accuracy of HGUC cell detection. This study examined the usefulness of the NLD index for detecting HGUC cells. The NLD index is useful for differentiating HGUC cells from benign reactive cells. The NLD index can be introduced into routine examinations. HGUC, high-grade urothelial carcinoma; PPV, positive predictive value.imageWe investigated whether the ratio of nuclear long diameter to neutrophil diameter (nuclear long diameter index) could differentiate high-grade urothelial carcinoma cells from benign reactive cells. We concluded that an appropriate nuclear long diameter index could distinguish high-grade urothelial carcinoma cells from benign reactive cells.