A new semiquantitative method for evaluation of metastasis progression.

PURPOSE: Although recent technical advancements are directed toward developing novel assays and methods for detection of micro and macro metastasis, there are still no reports of reliable, simple to use imaging software that could be used for the detection and quantification of metastasis in tissue sections. We herein report a new semiquantitative method for evaluation of metastasis progression in a well established 4T1 orthotopic mouse model of breast cancer metastasis. METHODS: The new semiquantitative method presented here was implemented by using the Autodesk AutoCAD 2012 program, a computer-aided design program used primarily for preparing technical drawings in 2 dimensions. RESULTS: By using the Autodesk AutoCAD 2012 software- aided graphical evaluation we managed to detect each metastatic lesion and we precisely calculated the average percentage of lung and liver tissue parenchyma with metastasis in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. The data were highly specific and relevant to descriptive histological analysis, confirming reliability and accuracy of the AutoCAD 2012 software as new method for quantification of metastatic lesions. CONCLUSION: The new semiquantitative method using AutoCAD 2012 software provides a novel approach for the estimation of metastatic progression in histological tissue sections.