Immunohistochemical double nuclear staining for cell-specific automated quantification of the proliferation index - A promising diagnostic aid for melanocytic lesions

Aims: Pathologists often use immunohistochemical staining of the proliferation marker Ki67 in their diagnostic assessment of melanocytic lesions. However, the interpretation of Ki67 can be challenging. We propose a new workflow to improve the diagnostic utility of the Ki67-index. In this workflow, Ki67 is combined with the melanocytic tumour-cell marker SOX10 in a Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear stain. The Ki67-index is then quantified automatically using digital image analysis (DIA). The aim of this study was to optimise and test three different multiplexing methods for Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear staining. Methods: Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC), and multiplexed immunohistochemical consecutive staining on single slide (MICSSS) were optimised for Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear staining. DIA applications were designed for automated quantification of the Ki67-index. The methods were tested on a pilot case-control cohort of benign and malignant melanocytic lesions (n = 23). Results: Using the Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear stain, malignant melanocytic lesions could be completely distinguished from benign lesions by the Ki67-index. The Ki67-index cut-offs were 1.8% (mIF) and 1.5% (mIHC and MICSSS). The AUC of the automatically quantified Ki67-index based on double nuclear staining was 1.0 (95% CI: 1.0;1.0), whereas the AUC of conventional Ki67 single-stains was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.71;1.00). Conclusions: The novel Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear stain highly improved the diagnostic precision of Ki67 interpretation. Both mIHC and mIF were useful methods for Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear staining, whereas the MICSSS method had challenges in the current setting. The Ki67/SOX10 double nuclear stain shows potential as a valuable diagnostic aid for melanocytic lesions.