Histopathological Variability and Concomitant Lesions in Pterygium in a Large Case Series
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Pterygium is a common lesion consisting of fleshy conjunctival growth extending towards the cornea. There is no documented risk of malignant transformation; however, concomitant disease is not rare, and its link to sunlight exposure indicates a risk of other malignancies. The purpose of our study is to describe histopathological features of resected pterygiums and to recognize patients at risk of other conjunctival diseases. One hundred and forty‐nine formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded pterygium samples were subjected to histopathological analysis. Histological H&E sections were obtained and digitalized using a Zeiss Axio Scan.Z1 slide scanner. Thirteen predefined morphological features were used to record histopathological changes in the epithelium and substantia propria. Neovascularization was observed in 54% of the samples. Sun damage, comprising solar elastosis and stromal plaque, was present in 81% of the samples. Variation in epithelial thickness was the most common change, with acanthosis and atrophy being observed in 62% and 26% of the samples, respectively. In our series, 21% (31/149) of pterygiums showed mild to moderate dysplasia, a finding that may be associated to ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN). Moreover, 32% (47/149) of the cases showed melanocytic hyperplasia, which could represent primary acquired melanosis (PAM). There is a positive correlation between dysplasia and chronic inflammation ( p = 0.012) and an inverse correlation with epithelial atrophy ( p = 0.001) and neovascularization ( p = 0.05). Similarly, a positive correlation is observed between goblet cell hyperplasia and melanocytic hyperplasia ( p = 0.02). Our findings show that pterygiums harbour histological features that may be suggestive of OSSN or PAM in 53% of our patients. Whilst being on the benign side of the spectrum, these two entities are known for their potential progression to malignancy. A recommendation is made for all surgically excised pterygiums to be sent for histopathological diagnosis, and clear guidelines for reporting of these lesions should be established. Associated histopathological findings suggestive of other concomitant diseases should be identified to insure adequate follow‐up of these patients.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".