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Comparison of fluorescence in situ hybridization with flow cytometry and static image analysis in ploidy analysis of paraffin-embedded prostate adenocarcinoma.

Nuclear DNA ploidy has been shown to have an important prognostic association for patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Flow cytometry and static image analysis are ploidy methods that have been used in prostate carcinoma. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using chromosome-specific probes can be used to evaluate the ploidy of interphase nuclei. In this study FISH was compared with flow cytometry and static image analysis in determining ploidy in paraffin-embedded tissue from 34 prostatic adenocarcinomas. Ploidy status using FISH was determined by enumerating centromeres of two chromosomes (8 and 12) by use of directly-labeled alpha-satellite DNA probes in isolated whole nuclei obtained by the Hedley technique. All three methods identified 11 of 34 cases as diploid and 17 of 34 cases as nondiploid (82% concordance). Six cases were discordant; two cases had discrepant results by each method. Ploidy classification as determined by FISH had an 88% concordance with ploidy classification by either flow cytometry or static image analysis. In conclusion, FISH was found to be a sensitive method of ploidy analysis in isolated paraffin-embedded nuclei from prostate adenocarcinomas. When the chromosomes commonly involved in aneuploidy have been identified in prostate adenocarcinoma, FISH has the potential to provide greater sensitivity for aneuploidy detection compared with currently available methods.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Heterogeneity, histological features and DNA ploidy in oral carcinoma by image-based analysis.

Oral squamous carcinomas appear heterogeneous on DNA ploidy analysis. However, this may be partly a result of sample dilution or the detection limit of techniques. The aim of this study was to determine whether oral squamous carcinomas are heterogeneous for ploidy status using image-based ploidy analysis and to determine whether ploidy status correlates with histological parameters. Multiple samples from 42 oral squamous carcinomas were analysed for DNA ploidy using an image-based system and scored for histological parameters. 22 were uniformly aneuploid, 1 uniformly tetraploid and 3 uniformly diploid. 16 appeared heterogeneous but only 8 appeared to be genuinely heterogeneous when minor ploidy histogram peaks were taken into account. Ploidy was closely related to nuclear pleomorphism but not differentiation. Sample variation, detection limits and diagnostic criteria account for much of the ploidy heterogeneity observed. Confident diagnosis of diploid status in an oral squamous cell carcinoma requires a minimum of 5 samples.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction and associations with 2-18F-fluoro-deoxy-2-D-glucose positron emission tomography findings before and during therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of fine needle aspiration (FNA) of neck node metastases in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) for evaluating changes in DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction (SPF) during cytotoxic treatment. The results of flow cytometric (FCM) and image cytometric (ICM) analyses of ploidy were compared. Secondly, the association of SPF and ploidy with the metabolic rate (MR) of 2-18F-fluoro-deoxy-2-D-glucose (FDG) in positron emission tomography (PET) was studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1993 and 1999, 47 patients with locally advanced, non-resectable HNSCC underwent FDG PET prior to (PET1) and early during (PET2) cytotoxic radical treatment. The MR of FDG was calculated separately in primary tumours and lymph node metastases. Immediately after both PET scans, FNA of node metastases was done in 29 patients at PET1 and in 27 at PET2. DNA ploidy was evaluated using FCM and manually using ICM. The SPF was evaluated using FCM only. RESULTS: At PET1 it was possible to evaluate the SPF using FCM in only 13/29 aspirations due to a poor cell yield or large amounts of debris. Ploidy was obtained in 23/29 aspirates using FCM and in 27/29 using ICM. A discordance in ploidy findings was apparent, with more non-diploid clones being detected by ICM than FCM. Eradication of non-diploid clones during therapy was observed in six cases using FCM, of which only one was confirmed by ICM. Neither SPF nor ploidy status showed any strong correlation with the MR of FDG. CONCLUSION: FNA of HNSCC metastases demands a high and qualitatively good cell yield for FCM examinations. ICM is laborious but feasible and offers more accurate detection of non-diploid cell clones. Ploidy and SPF were not strongly associated with FDG metabolism.

Adult↗

Flow cytometric analysis of megakaryocyte ploidy in chronic myeloproliferative disorders and reactive thrombocytosis.

Megakaryocyte (MK) ploidy patterns were analysed by flow cytometry in 29 newly diagnosed and previously untreated patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) and concomitant thrombocytosis, in 9 patients with reactive thrombocytosis (RT) and in 12 healthy individuals. Unfractionated bone marrow from routine aspirates was used. MKs were identified with a fluorescein labelled monoclonal antibody specific for glycoprotein IIIa (GPIIIa) and DNA was stained with propidium iodide. For the 12 healthy volunteers the mean modal ploidy number was 16 N; the 9 patients with RT displayed an identical MK ploidy pattern. The frequency of MKs with a ploidy > or = 32 N was 45% among the patients with essential thrombocythaemia (ET) compared to 32% among the healthy volunteers (p < 0.001). MKs with ploidy number > or = 64 N, comprising approximately 13% of the total number of MKs, was a characteristic finding in the patients with ET. Similar findings were present in 8 patients with polycythaemia vera (PV). In patients with PV 34% and 6% of the MKs displayed ploidies > or = 32 N and > or = 64 N, respectively. In contrast, a distinct shift towards lower ploidy number, with 63% of MKs < or = 8 N, was found among the 4 patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The present results indicate that by using flow cytometric analysis of MK ploidy distribution in patients with thrombocytosis, those with a reactive cause are likely to be discriminated from patients with myeloproliferative thrombocytosis, i.e. PV and ET on one hand and CML on the other hand. The distinction between ET and PV, however, has to be made on other grounds.

Adult↗

Short-term significance of DNA ploidy and cell proliferation in breast carcinoma: a multivariate analysis of prognostic markers in a series of 308 patients.

AIM: To determine the importance of tumour DNA ploidy and cell proliferation, as measured by the S phase fraction (SPF), in relation to other established clinicopathological indicators of prognosis in breast cancer. METHODS: A prospective study of 308 patients. Tumours were staged following the TNM system criteria and were classified according to the histological type and grade. DNA flow cytometry was performed on fresh/frozen samples stained with propidium iodide. Hormone receptors were analyzed by immunocytochemistry. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for statistical evaluation of the prognostic factors. RESULTS: Median follow up time was 39.6 months (range 3 to 84). A DNA diploid pattern was found in 134 tumours (43.5%) and aneuploid in 174 (56.5%). Median SPF value was 6.1% (range 1% to 27.8%). DNA ploidy and SPF were strongly correlated (p < 0.001), and both were related to histological type (p < 0.001), grade of differentiation (p < 0.001), tumour size (p = 0.006 and p = 0.002), and hormone receptor activity (p < 0.001). DNA ploidy was also related to node status (p = 0.022), but SPF was not. In univariate analysis, there were significant correlations between disease-free survival and age, histological grade, tumour size, node status, DNA ploidy, SPF, and hormone receptor activity; age, tumour size, node status, DNA ploidy, and hormone receptors were predictors of overall survival. In multivariate analysis, only node status (p = 0.001) and DNA ploidy (p = 0.006) retained independent prognostic significance in relation with overall survival, while node status (p < 0.001) and SPF (p < 0.001) were predictors of disease-free survival. DNA ploidy and SPF continued to predict disease-free and overall survival in lymph node positive (pN1) patients but not in the lymph node negative (pN0) group. CONCLUSIONS: DNA ploidy and SPF are strongly intercorrelated and have independent prognostic value for predicting the short term clinical outcome of breast carcinoma patients.

Adult↗

Different DNA ploidy patterns for the differentiation of common subtypes of renal tumors.

OBJECTIVES: The common subtypes of renal tumors are conventional or clear cell carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, chromophobe carcinoma and oncocytoma. Each subtype has its distinct histogenesis and clinical evolution. DNA ploidy is viewed as a marker of gross genomic aberrations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the DNA ploidy in the common subtypes of renal tumors to increase our understanding of renal tumor biology and to broaden clinical application of DNA ploidy. METHODS: 38 renal tumor samples (13 clear cell RCCs, 12 papillary RCCs, 7 chromophobe RCCs, and 6 oncocytomas) were studied. Five biopsies of different parts of each fresh tumor were subjected to a flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy. RESULTS: All tumors except one papillary RCC generated interpretable DNA histograms. Flow cytometric analysis of oncocytomas showed the diploid pattern (29/30 frequencies) while the chromophobe RCC never showed the diploid pattern (0/55 frequencies) (p<0.01). 3/7 chromopbobe RCCs possessed the hypodiploid stemline. The hypodiploid stemline appeared neither in conventional RCCs (0/63 frequencies) nor in papillary RCCs (0/50 frequencies). The diploid pattern was dominant in conventional and papillary RCCs. 10/13 (76.9%) of clear cell RCCs and 9/11 (81.8%) of papillary RCCs possessed a homogeneous DNA ploidy pattern while only 1/7 (14.3%) has a homogeneous DNA ploidy pattern. 6/7 chromophobe RCCs had multiple aneuploid stemlines. CONCLUSIONS: Flow cytometric analysis reveals that conventional and papillary RCCs are more homogeneous than chromophobe RCC. Each subtype of renal tumors possesses a specific DNA ploidy pattern. The analysis of DNA ploidy is useful for the differentiation of common subtypes of renal tumors in morphologically difficult cases.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗

Prognostic value of DNA ploidy patterns of colorectal adenocarcinoma: univariate and multivariate analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The prognostic significance of DNA ploidy patterns of colorectal cancer has not yet been settled. The present study was designed to determine the prognostic value of DNA ploidy patterns for colorectal adenocarcinomas after curative resection. METHODS: DNA ploidy patterns of 140 colorectal adenocarcinomas were determined by DNA flow cytometry, and the prognostic significance of DNA ploidy patterns was evaluated by univariate as well as multivariate analysis. RESULTS: DNA ploidy patterns were diploid in 75 (53.6%) and aneuploid in 65 patients (46.4%). DNA ploidy patterns did not correlate with any of conventional prognostic variables. Univariate analysis disclosed that Dukes B2, C1, and C2 stages of the disease (p < 0.01), positive nodal metastases (p < 0.01), invasion through the intestinal wall (p < 0.01), and poor tumor differentiation (p < 0.05) were associated with worsened survival, but no correlation was found between DNA patterns and survival of patients. Multivariate analysis disclosed that tumor penetration through the bowel wall was associated with poorer survival of patients but the DNA ploidy pattern had no prognostic significance. CONCLUSIONS: A significant prognostic variable for patients after curative resection of colorectal adenocarcinoma was penetration of tumor through the bowel wall but not DNA ploidy patterns.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Megakaryocyte ploidy and platelet changes in human diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Altered platelet morphology and function have been reported in patients with diabetes. They are likely to be associated with the pathological processes and increased risk of vascular disease seen in these patients. Mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet count, and megakaryocyte (MK) ploidy (DNA content) were measured in (1) nondiabetics with normal coronary arteries, (2) nondiabetics with coronary artery atherosclerosis, (3) diabetics without evidence of vascular complications, and (4) diabetics with vascular disease. The platelet count (+/- SD) was increased in all groups but only significantly in the diabetics with vascular disease (236 +/- 65 versus 250 +/- 54 versus 257 +/- 64 versus 295 +/- 90 [P < or = .05] x 10(9)/L, for groups, I, II, II, and IV, respectively). The MPV was significantly increased in patients with atherosclerosis (7.0 +/- 0.4 versus 8.0 +/- 1.2 [P < or = .05] versus 7.2 +/- 0.9 versus 8.1 +/- 0.9 [P < or = .05] IL). Geometric mean MK ploidy was significantly increased in all groups compared with controls (16 +/- 1.5 versus 18.7 +/- 1.8 [P < or = .05] versus 19.8 +/- 1.6 [P < or = .05] versus 20.1 +/- 2.7 [P < or = .05]). Furthermore, some patients with vascular disease and/or diabetes had a modal ploidy shift from 16 (the normal mammalian modal ploidy) to 32, with a concomitant reduction of MKs in the 8 and 16 ploidy classes. This shift was seen particularly in the diabetics with vascular disease (P = .007). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured and were elevated in patients with atherosclerosis; the highest levels were found in the diabetic patients (0.7 +/- 0.9 versus 5.3 +/- 5.5 [P < or = .05] versus 2.5 +/- 2.8 versus 6.7 +/- 5.5 [P < or = .05] ng/L). In the diabetic patients with atherosclerosis, fibrinogen levels were also increased (2.85 +/- 0.76 versus 3.34 +/- 1.32 versus 2.43 +/- 1.50 versus 5.59 +/- 1.72 [P < or = .05] g/L). Furthermore, IL-6 levels correlated with MK ploidy (r = .45, P = .009) and fibrinogen levels (r = .5, P = .0001). This study demonstrates that patients with vascular disease, particularly diabetics, have an altered MK ploidy distribution, showing a shift toward higher ploidy in association with an increased platelet mass (count x volume). Changes in platelets in diabetes probably reflect MK changes, which themselves are a response to systemic change.

Aged↗

Human breast cancer: prognostic significance of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein compared with epidermal growth factor receptor, DNA ploidy, and conventional pathologic features.

PURPOSE: A study was undertaken to define the prognostic value of the expression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in a series of breast cancer patients when compared by multivariate analysis with expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), DNA ploidy, and conventional clinicopathologic features. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prognostic indicators were analyzed in 165 primary breast cancers. The c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was recognized by the polyclonal antibody 21N using an immunocytochemical method. Expression of the EGFR was stated immunocytochemically using the monoclonal antibody EGFR1. DNA ploidy was assessed in paraffin-embedded sections using a standard flow-cytometric method. RESULTS: Overall, 27% of carcinomas had membrane 21N-staining and were classified as c-erbB-2-positive. Overexpression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was poorly associated with EGFR expression and the conventional pathologic features, and it was weakly associated with DNA ploidy and nodal status. Univariate analysis showed that c-erbB-2 expression, nodal status, DNA ploidy, and EGFR provided significant prognostic information concerning 4-year relapse-free survival (RFS) with the odds ratios (ORs) of not relapsing of 2.94, 2.83, 2.34, and 2.20, respectively. Regarding overall survival (OS) at 4 years, only nodal status and DNA ploidy had prognostic significance, with the ORs of not dying of 2.68 and 2.80, respectively. Applying multivariate analysis to RFS, 21N when adjusted for nodal status, EGFR, and DNA ploidy (full model) failed to retain prognostic value (P = .202), whereas nodal status was the most significant indicator of relapse (P = .027) followed by DNA ploidy (P = .056) and EGFR (P = .093). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that overexpression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein appears to be an important indicator of relapse in stage I-II breast cancer when singly evaluated. Multivariate analysis shows that the determination both of nodal status and DNA ploidy improves our ability to identify subsets of patients with different prognoses, and allows for a better selection of patients for systemic adjuvant treatments.

Adult↗

Ploidy and nuclear area as a predictive factor of histologic grade in primary breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To compare ploidy and nuclear area with histologic grade in breast cancer using cytologic samples. STUDY DESIGN: Fine needle aspirates from 85 patients with primary breast cancer were analyzed to identify ploidy and nuclear area. The Feulgen technique was used to stain the material. We used the SAMBA 4000 image analysis system (Grenoble, France) for analyzing ploidy and nuclear area. Each patient underwent a biopsy, and the histologic grade was analyzed. RESULTS: A significant association was found between ploidy and nuclear area, between histologic grade and nuclear area, and between ploidy and histologic grade. As ploidy became aneuploid and polyploid and nuclear area became larger, histologic grade became higher. CONCLUSION: A reliable and rapid evaluation of variables for breast cancer can be achieved using cytologic preparations by measuring ploidy and nuclear area of malignant cells with an image analysis system. Ploidy and nuclear area have a significant association with histologic grade.

Biopsy, Fine-Needle↗

DNA ploidy status in the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer.

DNA ploidy status of tumour cells is becoming a part of patient's record, because it brings an objective assessment of diagnostic and prognostic significance. DNA ploidy status in diagnosis--DNA ploidy status of some tumour types can be used as an adjunct to cytologic or histologic examination and provide an additional diagnostic information. For example, small cell lung carcinoma cells may be difficult to differentiate from cells of other benign neuroendocrine tumours. By computing the DNA malignancy grade, as defined by Bocking A. et al., it was possible to distinguish levels of malignancy among neuroendocrine tumours. Thus we were able to demonstrate that typical carcinoids may be differentiated from small cell carcinomas and atypical carcinoids. DNA ploidy status in prognosis--A large number of studies strongly support a correlation between DNA ploidy patterns and clinical course of malignant tumours. However, the prognostic value of DNA ploidy status has to be evaluated in relation to conventional clinico-pathologic characteristics, by multivariate analysis in order to demonstrate its independent contribution. For example, we demonstrated, in a prospective study of 211 colorectal adenocarcinomas, that ploidy status was an independent predictor of prognosis only in the early stages of the disease (Dukes' A, B, C), but not when advanced stages-(Dukes' D) were considered. In conclusion, DNA ploidy status may be used as an important objective parameter either in diagnosis or in prognosis, complementary to the traditional clinico-pathological characteristics.

DNA, Neoplasm↗

Evaluation of bone marrow megakaryocyte ploidy distributions in persons with normal and abnormal platelet counts.

Using bone marrow smears of the type prepared routinely in clinical practice, we determined megakaryocyte ploidy distributions in five normal persons, eight patients with both normal platelet counts and normal bone marrow morphology, and 18 patients with quantitative platelet disorders. To include 2N and 4N megakaryocytes in the ploidy distribution histograms, all megakaryocytes were identified by serial immunologic labelling with rabbit antiserum to human platelet glycoproteins and rhodamine-conjugated goat anti-rabbit igG. Cell nuclei were concurrently Feulgen stained with bis-aminophenyl-oxdiazole, and the nuclear fluorescent signals were quantified photometrically. A modal megakaryocyte ploidy value of 32N was seen in 10 of the 13 persons with normal platelet counts, and geometric mean megakaryocyte ploidy values averaged 24.9N +/- 7.0N (arithmetic mean +/- SD). In these normal control individuals, 2N and 4N megakaryocytes accounted for 11.1% of all megakaryocytes, and 2.6% of the megakaryocytes were 128N. Shifts to a higher mean ploidy were observed in five of seven patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, resulting from increased percentages of 64N and 128N megakaryocytes at the expense of 4N, 8N, and 16N cells. Shifts to lower ploidy were demonstrated in two patients with acute myelogenous leukemia and one patient each with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and isoimmune thrombocytopenia. Four of five patients with essential thrombocythemia had strikingly abnormal megakaryocyte ploidy histograms characterized by the presence of unusually high ploidy 256N and 512N megakaryocytes. These 256N and 512N cells were virtually unique to the patients with essential thrombocythemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bone Marrow↗

DNA ploidy analysis of squamous cell carcinomas of the oral and maxillofacial region: clinical and pathologic correlations.

DNA ploidy was investigated in 61 specimens obtained from 25 patients with squamous carcinoma of the oral and maxillofacial region. Biopsy specimens of normal tissue surrounding the tumor were also obtained in six patients. Single-cell suspensions for flow cytometric analysis were prepared. The DNA ploidy and histogram were calculated and compared with the histologic grade, presence of lymph node metastases, and course of the disease. The ploidy of the main stemline was peridiploid in 17 carcinomas, hyperdiploid in three, and aneuploid in five. Histologic grade but not nodal involvement was associated with the ploidy of the main stemline. Of 15 multisampled carcinomas 13 showed constant DNA ploidy and histogram classification. In the other two major changes in DNA ploidy (from peridiploid to hyperdiploid in the first and from peridiploid to aneuploid in the second) were found. Survival information was available for 24 patients. Ploidy values higher or lower than 2.5 c were strongly predictive of both overall (p < 0.001) and relapse-free survival (p < 0.001). The lymph node status proved a powerful prognostic indicator (p = 0.014) but was not related to the relapse-free time of survival. Multiparametric evaluation of survival revealed an independent role of both DNA ploidy and nodal involvement in the prognosis of squamous carcinoma of the oral and maxillofacial region.

Adult↗

Prognostic significance of DNA ploidy in patients with stage II and stage III colon carcinoma: a prospective flow cytometric study.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of flow cytometric DNA ploidy in colorectal carcinoma has not been defined clearly. Most previous studies were conducted retrospectively using archival formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor samples. Conversely, few data on prospective studies employing fresh or frozen tissue specimens are available. There is general agreement that fresh/frozen material is more reliable than paraffin embedded tissue for DNA ploidy analysis by flow cytometry. METHODS: In the current investigation we evaluated the prognostic significance of nuclear DNA content in a prospective series of 191 patients with curatively resected TNM Stage II (n = 107) or Stage III (n = 84) sporadic colon carcinomas. DNA ploidy status was assessed by flow cytometry utilizing multiple frozen tumor samples. Mean follow-up in surviving patients was 48.5 months (median, 46.9 months; range, 29-77 months). The Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust for several clinical and pathologic covariates. RESULTS: Of the 191 carcinomas examined, 47 (24.6%) were classified as DNA diploid and 144 (75.4%) as DNA aneuploid. DNA ploidy pattern was significantly related to tumor site (P < 0.0001), histologic type (P = 0.0002), and grade of differentiation (P = 0.009), but not to other clinical and pathologic variables. Patients with DNA diploid tumors showed a better disease free (P = 0.013) and overall survival (P = 0.021) than patients with DNA aneuploid adenocarcinomas. In particular, patients with Stage II DNA diploid tumors (n = 30) had an excellent clinical outcome, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 97%. When patients were analyzed according to the anatomic site of the tumor, a significant relationship between DNA ploidy status and disease free and overall survival was observed in the group of patients with carcinomas of the proximal colon (n = 84) (P = 0.004 and P = 0.002, respectively), but not among patients whose tumors were sited distally to the splenic flexure (n = 107). In multivariate analysis, nuclear DNA content was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic variable for both disease free and overall survival. Furthermore, in the group of patients with tumors of the proximal colon, DNA ploidy pattern was the single most important prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that flow cytometric DNA ploidy status is a significant and independent prognostic factor in patients with colon carcinoma. These findings may have clinical implications for the management of affected patients, especially those with Stage II disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗

DNA ploidy compared with human papilloma virus testing (Hybrid Capture II) and conventional cervical cytology as a primary screening test for cervical high-grade lesions and cancer in 1555 patients with biopsy confirmation.

BACKGROUND: Because 80% of cervical cancers arise in low-resource settings, many inexpensive strategies are being tested. In that spirit, the authors are testing large-scale genomic or DNA ploidy measurements as an inexpensive and semiautomated strategy. METHODS: Patients entered either a screening or diagnostic study of several optical technologies: quantitative cytology, quantitative histopathology, and fluorescence and reflectance spectroscopy using a point probe, a multispectral digital colposcope, or a combination of the two. We calculated sensitivities, specificities, positive and negative predictive values, and their confidence interval testing conventional cytology, Hybrid Capture (HC) II testing, and DNA ploidy measured on the Feulgen-stained quantitative Pap smear. RESULTS: The current investigation reports on 1555 patients for whom colposcopically directed biopsies were read 3 times by study pathologists. The final histopathologic diagnosis was high grade (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] 2, CIN 3, carcinoma in situ [CIS], and cancer) in 16% of patients. Using high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) histopathology as the threshold and gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity, respectively, were: 0.47 and 0.96 for conventional cytology, 0.91 and 0.80 for HC II, and 0.59 and 0.93 for DNA ploidy. The positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) for conventional cytology were 0.70 and 0.90, 0.46 and 0.98 for HC II, and 0.63 and 0.92 for DNA ploidy. CONCLUSIONS: DNA ploidy shows comparable sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV values to conventional cytology and HC II. Unlike conventional cytology, DNA ploidy is semiautomated and can be performed in less than 8 hours. Cost effectiveness studies are under way, but in the authors' laboratory DNA ploidy is inexpensive.

Adolescent↗

Prognostic significance of tumor-host interaction in clinical gastric cancer: relationship between DNA ploidy and dendritic cell infiltration.

DNA ploidy of tumor cells and the degree of infiltration of dendritic cells were determined in 93 gastric cancer tissue specimens, and the mechanisms of tumor-host interaction on the prognosis were investigated. DNA ploidy patterns were grouped into low and high ploidy, and the degree of infiltration of dendritic cells (DC) was graded into marked and slight infiltration. In the low ploidy group, the 5-year survival rates in patients with marked and slight DC infiltration were 80.7% and 61.5%, respectively (P < 0.05). In the high ploidy group, however, there were no significant differences. In cases of low ploidy, the incidence of lymph node metastasis was significantly lower in the marked DC infiltration group compared with findings in the slight DC group. Thus, markedly infiltrating dendritic cells in gastric cancer tissue may lead to prolongation of survival time for patients with a carcinoma of the low ploidy profile, by preventing widespread nodal involvement.

Dendrites↗

DNA ploidy level and S-phase fraction as prognostic factors in breast cancer.

Imprint smears from sixty cases of breast cancer made after mastectomy were stained by the Feulgen method and the nuclear DNA content measured by a cytofluorometer equipped with an incident illumination system. After logarithmic transformation of the fluorescence intensity, the ploidy level and S-phase fraction (SPF) were calculated with a microcomputer and the correlation between the ploidy level or SPF and the clinicopathological prognostic factors studied. Patients with tumors of a larger diameter and more extensive lymph node involvement had higher levels of ploidy and SPF and the ploidy level in the metastatic lymph nodes was higher than that in the primary lesion. Moreover, a significant increase in SPF was observed in the metastatic lymph nodes and a high ploidy level found to be associated with tumors having a negative estrogen receptor. When the tumors were divided into a diploid group and an aneuploid group, the diploid group showed a significantly better prognosis than the aneuploid group, in 6-year survival. Similarly, the groups in which SPF was less than 20.0 per cent had significantly better prognoses than the group in which SPF was 20.1 per cent or more. These prognostic factors were evaluated with Cox's proportional hazard model and a significant correlation observed in lymph node status, ER status, ploidy level and S-phase fraction. It was thus concluded that ploidy level and SPF are important and independent prognostic factors for predicting the postoperative course of breast cancer patients.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Prognostic value of ploidy of primary tumour and nodal secondaries in colorectal cancers.

Tumour ploidy is of prognostic value in colorectal cancer, DNA aneuploid tumours having a worse outlook. Nearly all studies have concentrated on the DNA content of the primary tumour. We have examined the ploidy of the primary tumour and its lymph node metastases in 71 cases of Dukes' stage C disease, to see whether this provides greater prognostic information than the primary alone. Analysis was performed using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumour sections. Ploidy of primary and metastases was different in 20 cases (28%), aneuploid nodes being seen with diploid primaries and vice versa. Ploidy of both the primary (chi 2 = 4.86, P = 0.03) and secondary (chi 2 = 4.86, P = 0.03) tumours predicted survival in univariate analysis. Combining the ploidy of primary and nodes, three prognostic groups could be defined--diploid primaries with diploid metastases (hazard relative to both aneuploid, 0.36) had significantly better survival than cases where the ploidy of the primary and nodes were mixed (relative hazard 0.47-0.56), which did better than cases with aneuploid primary and nodes. This study demonstrates that ploidy variation between primary and secondary tumours is common, and better prognostic information may be gained by studying both.

Aneuploidy↗