A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer

Yihan Xu

doi:10.47297/taposatWSP2633-456924.20260703

PDF
导出
分享
收藏
专辑

A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer

7卷第3期

浏览量: 0 Downloads: 3

A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer
A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer
School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China.
2026年7卷第3期页码：119-122
纸质出版：2026-03-30
DOI：10.47297/taposatWSP2633-456924.20260703
Accepted：

Scan QR Code

Yihan Xu. (2026). A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer. 科技理论与实践（英文版）, 7(3), 119-122.

Xu Yihan.A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer[J].Theory and Practice of Science and Technology,2026,07(03):119-122.
Yihan Xu. (2026). A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer. 科技理论与实践（英文版）, 7(3), 119-122. DOI： 10.47297/taposatWSP2633-456924.20260703.

Xu Yihan.A Deep Learning-Enabled Computational Pathology Pipeline for Comparative Assessment of Intratumoral and Peritumoral Budding in Colorectal Cancer[J].Theory and Practice of Science and Technology,2026,07(03):119-122. DOI： 10.47297/taposatWSP2633-456924.20260703.

摘要

Abstract

Tumor budding is a well-established adverse prognostic factor in colorectal cancer

but current guideline-based assessment mainly emphasizes peritumoral budding (PTB) at the invasive margin

whereas the significance of intratumoral budding (ITB) remains less clear. Manual evaluation is also labor-intensive

subjective

and difficult to standardize. In this retrospective study

245 colorectal cancer cases were analyzed to investigate the clinicopathological relevance of both ITB and PTB and to develop an AI-assisted computational pathology workflow for objective budding assessment. The workflow integrated multimodal whole-slide image registration

deep learning-based tissue segmentation with a Wide ResNet-101 backbone

and morphology-guided tumor budding detection on CAM5.2-stained whole-slide images. A total of 2

045 budding events were identified

including 1

310 PTB and 735 ITB. High-grade ITB was significantly associated with adverse pathological features

including poor differentiation

lymph node metastasis

and vascular invasion. The automated workflow showed strong concordance with expert assessment in both budding quantification and risk stratification. These findings suggest that ITB is closely associated with PTB and may serve as a complementary indicator of tumor aggressiveness. More importantly

the proposed workflow provides a robust and standardized framework for automated tumor budding assessment in computational pathology.

关键词

Keywords

references

Bray, F., Laversanne, M., Sung, H., et al. (2024) Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 74, 229-263.

Keum, N. and Giovannucci, E. (2019) Global burden of colorectal cancer: emerging trends, risk factors and prevention strategies. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 16, 713-732.

Böckelman, C., Engelmann, B.E., Kaprio, T., et al. (2015) Risk of recurrence in patients with colon cancer stage II and III: a systematic review and meta-analysis of recent literature. Acta Oncologica, 54, 5-16.

Sveen, A., Kopetz, S. and Lothe, R.A. (2020) Biomarker-guided therapy for colorectal cancer: strength in complexity. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 17, 11-32.

Brabletz, T., Jung, A., Reu, S., et al. (2001) Variable beta-catenin expression in colorectal cancers indicates tumor progression driven by the tumor environment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98, 10356-10361.

Lugli, A., Zlobec, I., Berger, M.D., et al. (2021) Tumour budding in solid cancers. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 18, 5-21.

Hase, K., Shatney, C., Johnson, D., et al. (1993) Prognostic value of tumor "budding" in patients with colorectal cancer. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 36, 627-635.

Thiery, J.P., Acloque, H., Huang, R.Y., et al. (2009) Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in development and disease. Cell, 139, 871-890.

Mitrovic, B., Schaeffer, D.F., Riddell, R.H., et al. (2012) Tumor budding in colorectal carcinoma: time to take notice. Modern Pathology, 25, 1315-1325.

Lugli, A., Kirsch, R., Ajioka, Y., et al. (2017) Recommendations for reporting tumor budding in colorectal cancer based on the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference (ITBCC) 2016. Modern Pathology, 30, 1299-1311.

Dawson, H., Galván, J.A., Helbling, M., et al. (2019) Validation of the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference 2016 recommendations on tumor budding in stage I-IV colorectal cancer. Human Pathology, 85, 145-151.

Cappellesso, R., Luchini, C., Veronese, N., et al. (2017) Tumor budding as a risk factor for nodal metastasis in pT1 colorectal cancers: a meta-analysis. Human Pathology, 65, 62-70.

National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. (2023) Chinese protocol of diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer (2023 edition). Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi, 61, 617-644.

Hashiguchi, Y., Muro, K., Saito, Y., et al. (2020) Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) guidelines 2019 for the treatment of colorectal cancer. International Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25, 1-42.

Lugli, A., Vlajnic, T., Giger, O., et al. (2011) Intratumoral budding as a potential parameter of tumor aggressiveness in mismatch repair-proficient and mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer patients. Human Pathology, 42, 1833-1840.

Giger, O.T., Comtesse, S.C., Lugli, A., et al. (2012) Intratumoral budding in preoperative radiochemotherapy-treated rectal cancer. Human Pathology, 43, 462-466.

Zlobec, I., Karamitopoulou, E., Terracciano, L., et al. (2010) Intratumoral budding (ITB) in preoperative biopsies predicts the presence of lymph node and distant metastases in colon and rectal cancer patients. Virchows Archiv, 457, 534-541.

Koelzer, V.H., Lugli, A. and Zlobec, I. (2016) Tumor budding in colorectal cancer—ready for clinical practice? Human Pathology, 47, 4-19.