Hidden in plain sight. Automatic detection of tumor budding in digital pathology images of colorectal cancer

J. Bokhorst

• Promotor: J. van der Laak, I. Nagtegaal and F. Ciompi
• Graduation year: 2024
• Radboud University, Nijmegen

Abstract

Tumor budding (TB), the presence of single cells or small clusters of up to four tumor cells, at the invasive front of colorectal cancer (CRC) is a proven risk factor for adverse outcomes. Despite their prognostic value, the potential of TBs as prognostic biomarkers is currently underused within clinical practice, partly due to observer variability among pathologists and partly because it is very time-consuming. Therefore, we dedicate this thesis to the development of deep learning algorithms for the automatic, efficient, and precise detection of these tumor buds