Open AccessArticle
Prognostic Value of the Diversity of Nuclear Chromatin Compartments in Gynaecological Carcinomas
by
1,2
, 1,2, 3,4
, 1,5,6
and 1,2,7,*
1
Institute for Cancer Genetics and Informatics, Oslo University Hospital, NO-0424 Oslo, Norway
2
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
3
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Haukeland University Hospital, NO-5020 Bergen, Norway
4
Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, NO-5020 Bergen, Norway
5
Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, NO-0424 Oslo, Norway
6
Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway
7
Nuffield Division of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 26 November 2020 / Revised: 15 December 2020 / Accepted: 16 December 2020 / Published: 19 December 2020
Simple Summary
Chromatin organisation affects gene expression and contributes to carcinogenesis. Automatic quantification of chromatin heterogeneity can be applied to identify patients with increased risk of cancer recurrence and death in several cancer types. We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of diversity of chromatin compartments in relation to chromatin heterogeneity and as a potential supplement to pathological risk classifications in gynaecological carcinomas. To this end, we computed the entropy of both chromatin compartment sizes and optical densities within compartments. In analysis of two cohorts consisting of 1037 patients with gynaecological carcinoma, we observed a moderately strong correlation between the prognostic value of the entropies and chromatin heterogeneity. The entropies provided an objective marker, which, integrated with pathological risk classifications, might possibly contribute to the selection of high-risk stage I ovarian carcinoma patients for adjuvant chemotherapy and to preoperative identification of low-risk endometrial carcinoma patients who are candidates for less extensive surgery.