10: Benchmarking Spatial Co-Localization Methods for Single-Cell Multiplex Imaging Data of Cancers

Music City Center 

Single-cell multiplex imaging (scMI) measures cell locations and phenotypes in tissues, enabling insights into the tumor microenvironment. In scMI studies, quantifying spatial co-localization of immune cells and its link to clinical outcomes, such as survival, is crucial. However, it is unclear which spatial indices have sufficient power to detect within-sample co-localization and its association with outcomes. This study evaluated six frequentist spatial co-localization metrics using simulated data to assess their power and Type I error. Additionally, these metrics were applied to two scMI datasets-high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)-to detect co-localization between cell types and its relation to survival. Simulations showed Ripley's K had the highest power, followed by pair correlation g, while other metrics exhibited low power. In cancer studies, Ripley's K, pair correlation g, and the scLMM index were most effective in detecting within-sample co-localization and associations with survival, highlighting their utility in scMI analyses.

Co-Clustering

Multiplex Imaging

Spatial Biology

Spatial Proteomics 

ENAR