The efficient and unbiased estimation of nuclear size variability using the ‘selector’

The selector was used to make an unbiased estimation of nuclear size variability in one benign naevocellular skin tumour and one cutaneous malignant melanoma. The results showed that the estimates obtained using the selector were comparable to those obtained using the more time consuming Cavalieri-disector approach. Employing ‘optical sections’, the selector was found to be between five and ten times more efficient than the Cavalieri-disector method when using physical sections.