README file

Dataset Title: “Ki67 density maps in canine tumors”
Dataset Author/s:
•	Giancarlo Avallone (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy), ORCID 0000-0002-5203-7679;
•	Elena Brigandì (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy); 
•	Barbara Bacci (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy), ORCID 0000-0002-2206-0384;
•	Barbara Brunetti (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy), ORCID 0000-0002-2694-905X
•	Antonella Rigillo (I-Vet, Brescia, Italy)
•	Paola Roccabianca (Università Degli Studi di Milano, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Lodi, Italy) ORCID 0000-0002-3672-4612;
•	Chiara Chiappelli (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy); 
•	Giorgia Bellini (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy); 
Dataset Contact Person: Giancarlo Avallone (University of Bologna, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET, Bologna, Italy), ORCID 0000-0002-5203-7679; giancarlo.avallone@unibo.it
Dataset License: this data set is distributed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ 
Publication Year: 2025

Data set Contents
The dataset consists of:
•	1 tabular quantitative file saved in .csv format “Ki67 density maps in canine tumors.csv”
•	1 README file “READMEfile_Ki67 density maps in canine tumors.rtf”

Data set Documentation

Abstract
This dataset contains aimed to evaluate the classification of the spatial distribution of the most proliferative areas in selected canine tumor types, using Ki67 immunohistochemistry. Tumor types analysed included melanomas, cutaneous mast cell tumors, canine mammary carcinomas and soft tissue sarcomas. Using image analysis, Ki67 density maps were generated from digital slides and classified according to their distribution pattern (focal/multifocal or diffuse) and location within the tumor (central, peripheral or scattered).
Content of the files:
•	•	file “Ki67 density maps in canine tumors.csv” contains all the variables listed below
Methodology
The immunohistochemical slides were digitized and analyzed using QuPath software to detect Ki67-positive cells within manually selected tumor regions, excluding non-neoplastic and irrelevant areas. Density maps of proliferative activity were generated and visually reviewed by pathologists, who classified tumors based on hotspot distribution (focal/multifocal or diffuse) and hotspot location (central, peripheral, or scattered).

File specifics: All .csv files are UTF-8 encoded, with comma ";" as field delimiter. + inserire breve descrizione del software (versione utilizzata, se è open source o meno)

List of variables
Diagnosis: tumor type
Diagnosis 2: tumor subtype
Location: location of the hot spots of higher density of Ki67 positive cells (classified as scattered, central, and peripheric)
Distribution: distribution of the hot spots of higher density of Ki67 positive cells (classified as multifocal and diffuse)