Image analysis Uncovers associations between immune landscape, collagen structure, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas

Arpit Aggarwal; Germán Corredor; Pingfu Fu; Tilak Pathak; Tuomas Mirtti; Susan Modesitt; T Rinda Soong; Anant Madabhushi

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33618

Image analysis Uncovers associations between immune landscape, collagen structure, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas

Heliyon. 2024 Jun 25;10(13):e33618. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33618. eCollection 2024 Jul 15.

Authors

Arpit Aggarwal^{1

2}, Germán Corredor^{2

3}, Pingfu Fu⁴, Tilak Pathak², Tuomas Mirtti^{5

6}, Susan Modesitt⁷, T Rinda Soong⁸, Anant Madabhushi^{1

2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Georgia Tech, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Atlanta, GA, USA.
² Emory University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Atlanta, GA, USA.
³ Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁴ Case Western Reserve University, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
⁶ Research Program in Systems Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
⁷ Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁸ Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA.
⁹ Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Abstract

Background: The changes in the tumor microenvironment of high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas following neoadjuvant chemotherapy are a complex area of study. Previous research underscores the importance of investigating the immune and collagen components within the tumor microenvironment for prognostic implications.

Methods: In this study, we utilized computational pathology techniques with Hematoxylin and Eosin-stained images to quantitatively characterize the immune and collagen architecture within the tumor microenvironment of patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Results: Our analysis of 12 pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy images revealed an increase in immune infiltrate, primarily within the epithelial region. Additionally, post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy images exhibited chaotic collagen architecture compared to pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy images. Importantly, features extracted from post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy images showed associations with overall survival, potentially aiding in the selection of patients for immunotherapy trials.

Conclusions: These findings offer critical insights into the changes in the tumor microenvironment of high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and their potential implications for clinical outcomes.