Automated Diagnosis of Lymphoma with Digital Pathology Images Using Deep Learning.

Recent studies have shown promising results in using Deep Learning to detect malignancy in whole slide imaging, however, they were limited to just predicting a positive or negative finding for a specific neoplasm. We attempted to use Deep Learning with a convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm to build a lymphoma diagnostic model for four diagnostic categories: (1) benign lymph node, (2) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, (3) Burkitt lymphoma, and (4) small lymphocytic lymphoma. Our software was written in Python language. We obtained digital whole-slide images of Hematoxylin and Eosin stained slides of 128 cases including 32 cases for each diagnostic category. Four sets of 5 representative images, 40x40 pixels in dimension, were taken for each case. A total of 2,560 images were obtained from which 1,856 were used for training, 464 for validation, and 240 for testing. For each test set of 5 images, the predicted diagnosis was combined from the prediction of five images. The test results showed excellent diagnostic accuracy at 95% for image-by-image prediction and at 100% for set-by-set prediction. This preliminary study provided a proof of concept for incorporating automated lymphoma diagnostic screen into future pathology work-flow to augment the pathologists' productivity.

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma with Associated Demyelination and Creutzfeldt Astrocytes.

A previously healthy 54-year-old woman presented with weight loss, progressive weakness that was more pronounced on the left side, and intermittent occipital headaches. Imaging studies showed multiple enhancing lesions along the white matter, compatible with a demyelinating process. The patient's previous history included relapsing-remitting symptoms of weakness over the past 3 years. A stereotactic brain biopsy showed histological features of demyelination with an associated population of neoplastic lymphoid cells. These unusual findings raise the question of whether demyelinating disease preceded the development of primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL), or whether PCNSL induced demyelination. Although rare, cases of "sentinel lesions" heralding the diagnosis of PCNSL have been reported. This case emphasizes the importance of having a high index of suspicion of PCNSL in the setting of suspected demyelinating lesion in an adult patient.