Histological analysis is the core of follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) classification. The histopathological criteria of capsular and vascular invasion define malignancy and aggressiveness of FTC. Analysis of multiple sections is cumbersome and as only a minute tissue fraction is analyzed during histopathology, under-sampling remains a problem. Application of an efficient tool for complete tissue imaging in 3D would speed-up diagnosis and increase accuracy. We show that X-ray propagation-based imaging (XPBI) of paraffin-embedded tissue blocks is a valuable complementary method for follicular thyroid carcinoma diagnosis and assessment. It enables a fast, non-destructive and accurate 3D virtual histology of the FTC resection specimen. We demonstrate that XPBI virtual slices can reliably evaluate capsular invasions. Then we discuss the accessible morphological information from XPBI and their significance for vascular invasion diagnosis. We show 3D morphological information that allow to discern vascular invasions. The results are validated by comparing XPBI images with clinically accepted histology slides revised by and under supervision of two experienced endocrine pathologists.

中文翻译：

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通过相差 X 射线显微 CT 进行 3D 虚拟组织病理学治疗滤泡性甲状腺肿瘤


组织学分析是滤泡性甲状腺癌（FTC）分类的核心。包膜和血管侵犯的组织病理学标准定义了 FTC 的恶性和侵袭性。多个切片的分析很麻烦，并且由于在组织病理学过程中仅分析微小的组织部分，因此采样不足仍然是一个问题。应用有效的 3D 完整组织成像工具将加快诊断速度并提高准确性。我们表明，石蜡包埋组织块的基于 X 射线传播的成像 (XPBI) 是滤泡性甲状腺癌诊断和评估的一种有价值的补充方法。它能够对 FTC 切除标本进行快速、无损且准确的 3D 虚拟组织学分析。我们证明 XPBI 虚拟切片可以可靠地评估包膜侵袭。然后我们讨论 XPBI 中可获取的形态学信息及其对血管侵犯诊断的意义。我们显示 3D 形态学信息，可以辨别血管侵犯。通过将 XPBI 图像与由两位经验丰富的内分泌病理学家修改并在其监督下修改的临床可接受的组织学载玻片进行比较来验证结果。