[en] Short communication

[en] Purpose: The correlation between the DNA content, determined using fresh tumor tissues, and the macroscopic presentation of the lesion was studied prospectively in patients with T1 glottic carcinoma. Methods and Materials: DNA flow cytometry and fiber-optic endoscopic examination were performed for 30 previously untreated patients with T1 glottic carcinoma. The patients received radical radiotherapy at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital. Results: In regard to the type of lesion, 4 (80%) were aneuploid, and 1 (20%) was diploid for the invasive type. There was a tendency to show an invasive appearance in aneuploid tumors. With respect to clinical outcome, there were 3 (43%) local recurrences among the aneuploid tumors that invaded the entire length of one vocal cord, 0 (0%) for medium-sized lesions, and 1 (17%) for small lesions. Aneuploid tumors showed a high correlation between lesion size and local control. Conclusions: The correlation was not strong enough to conclude that DNA content can replace the macroscopic presentation of the lesion. However, the combination of DNA content and tumor size may help predict radiation sensitivity

[en] From 1976 through 1983, 48 patients with T₂/T₃ bladder carcinomas were treated with pre-operative radiotherapy (46 Gy) and total cystectomy. DNA histograms were recorded by flow cytometry (FCM) from all pre-treatment paraffin-embedded tumour biopsies and, if still present after radiotherapy, from tumour tissue from the cystectomy specimen. Five patients were excluded from the study because no DNA histograms could be recorded due to extensive destruction of the cell nuclei during preparation. Thus, 43 patients are completely evaluable. Before the start of radiotherapy, 32 bladder carcinomas were interpreted as non-diploid, whereas 11 were diploid. Non-diploidy of the pre-treatment biopsy was associated with radiotherapy induced stage reduction (p = 0.13). The survival rates in patients with diploid and non-diploid tumours were 65% and 45% respectively at 4 years (p = 0.13). Although not statistically significant, the results suggest that DNA-FCM may provide clinically relevant information about the tumour biology and response to radiotherapy concerning bladder carcinomas. 16 refs.; 4 figs.; 3 tabs

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No abstract available

[en] The original pre-treatment histological sections from 125 patients with invasive (T2/T3) transitional cell bladder cancer treated by radical radiotherapy were studied; 63 tumours responded completely to radiation and 62 did not; 55 of 72 tumours containing areas of squamous metaplasia and 27 of 36 staining for beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin failed to respond to radiotherapy; 26 of 28 tumours showing both squamous metaplasia and beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin did not respond to radiation, whereas 40 of 45 tumours without either of these features responded. The DNA ploidy of 86 tumours in the series was measured by flow cytometry; 11 of 27 aneuploid and 30 of 59 diploid tumours responded to irradiation. Squamous metaplasia and beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin in bladder cancer indicate resistance to radiotherapy but DNA ploidy does not. (author)

[en] The pathologist's responsibility is to accurately grade and stage prostate cancer through evaluation of tissue specimens. The Gleason system is the most widely used and independently validated grading system in the United States and is gradually replacing other grading systems world-wide. This system relies only on architectural characteristics of the tumor from low magnification microscopy without regard to nuclear grade. In nearly all studies evaluating old and new prognostic parameters, the Gleason grade has been shown consistently to be the most powerful independent prognostic factor. Attempts to distinguish between clinically significant and clinically insignificant cancer prior to any therapy have utilized a combination of clinical and pathologic parameters such as: DRE and TRUS findings, serum PSA, and Gleason grade, number of biopsy cores involved, and length of tumor in each of the involved cores. Other markers that are being studies to enhance prediction of final pathologic stage include microvessel density (angiogenesis), DNA ploidy, and immunohistochemistry for various markers such as p53 protein product. Accurate pathologic staging of the radical prostatectomy specimen with or without pelvic lymph node dissection is the gold standard with which to compare all other less invasive means of evaluation. The most complete information is derived from a totally embedded and sectioned radical prostatectomy specimen, either by standard or whole-mount sections. The pathologic staging consists of evaluation for the presence or absence of extraprostatic extension, seminal vesicle involvement, and lymph node metastases. Surgical margin status, although a potentially important piece of prognostic information, is not a part of any pTNM category. Following treatment of prostate cancer by definitive irradiation therapy, assessment of local control of the tumor is based upon clinical and radiographic criteria along with the results of follow-up biopsies. There are differences of opinion regarding the meaning of the post-irradiation biopsy, but no controversy regarding the fact that many months may pass after therapy before biopsy findings have any clinical relevance. Another practical difficulty is that many pathologists are not familiar with the interpretation of the post-irradiation biopsy, giving rise to false positive diagnoses when irradiation-induced atypia in residual benign glands is mistaken for residual carcinoma

[en] The majority of squamous cell carcinomas of cervix are preceded by visible changes in the cervix, most often detected by cervical smear. As cervical cancer is preceded by long precancerous stages, identification of the high-risk population through detection of DNA ploidy may be of importance in effective management of this disease. Here we attempted to correlate aneuploidy DNA patterns and their influence on biological behavior of flow-cytometry analysis of DNA ploidy which was carried out in cytologically diagnosed cases of mild (79), moderate (36), and severe (12) dysplasia, as well as “atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS)” (57) along with controls (69), in order to understand its importance in malignant progression of disease. Cytologically diagnosed dysplasias, which were employed for DNA ploidy studies, 39 mild, 28 moderate, and 11 severe dysplasia cases were found to be aneuploidy. Out of the 69 control subjects, 6 cases showed aneuploidy pattern and the rest 63 subjects were diploid. An aneuploidy pattern was observed in 8 out of 57 cases of cytologically evaluated ASCUS. The results of the followup studies showed that aberrant DNA content reliably predicts the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma in cervical smear. Flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy may provide a strategic diagnostic tool for early detection of carcinoma cervix. Therefore, it is a concept of an HPV screening with reflex cytology in combination with DNA flow cytometry to detect progressive lesions with the greatest possible sensitivity and specificity.

[en] The aim of this study was to examine any relation between DNA ploidy and previously detected TP53 (p53) or p21WAF1/CIP1 expression in 94 patients with muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder and to associate these factors with survival. DNA ploidy was determined by image cytometry. In a subgroup of patients, the mutational status of the TP53 gene was assessed by temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis (TTGE) or perpendicular denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and subsequent sequencing. Significantly more aneuploid than euploid tumours showed TP53 accumulation (p = 0.003). Patients with aneuploid tumours lived longer than patients with euploid tumours (p = 0.003). In the euploid, but not in the aneuploid group, TP53 and p21WAF1/CIP1 were associated with cancer-specific survival (p = 0.002 and 0.02, respectively). Patients with > 50% TP53 expression had the longest survival time. Mutation analyses showed acceptable concordance with TP53 expression. We conclude that DNA aneuploidy may confer increased radiosensitivity in bladder cancer patients and that TP53 accumulation may confer increased radiosensitivity, but its effect is detectable only in euploid tumours

[en] DNA ploidy pattern was shown to correlate with several clinicohistologic findings in several tumors. Aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of the clinicohistologic findings in colorectal cancer and the failure pattern in rectosigmoid cancer with DNA ploidy. DNA flow cytometry using the Hedley methods on paraffin embedded specimen from 117 patients with colorectal cancers after curative resection was performed. We tried to find the correlation between DNA ploidy and various clinicohistologic findings. And then the correlation DNA ploidy and the failure pattern in 75 patients of rectosigmoid cancer was analized. Forty samples (34.2%) from tumors gave aneuploidy histogram. There was no significant difference in the frequency of DNA aneuploidy in terms of age, sex, depth of invasion, location and Dukes stage. But there was a significant correlation between DNA ploidy and the failure rates in Dukes stage B rectosigmoid cancer (p=0.048). These findings suggest that DNA ploidy pattern shows the correlation with the treatment failure rates in Dukes stage B rectosigmoid, but not with many other clinicohistologic findings. However, more patients will be needed to disclose these findings