Digitally quantitated tumor cellularity as a prognostic factor in NSCLC

Dr. Matthew Cecchini from the University of Western Ontario discusses his team’s study on the prognostic role of digitally assessed cell density in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Recently, a revised reporting system for lung adenocarcinoma incorporates high-risk histologic patterns, which may have increased cellular density. Digital slides from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) data sets were obtained and analyzed using QuPath. High-grade histologic patterns in the ADC and SCC cases were associated with greater tumor densities compared with low-grade patterns. Cases with lower tumor cellularity had improved overall and progression-free survival compared with cases with higher cellularity.