DNA Ploidy and Liver Cell Dysplasia in Liver Biopsies from Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

There is controversy among pathologists when assessing the presence or absence of liver cell dysplasia in liver biopsies taken from cirrhotic patients. The objective of the present study was to determine the DNA ploidy pattern of hepatocytes of patients with liver cirrhosis and its relationship to liver cell dysplasia. A total of 48 male patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis based on clinical, laboratory and histopathological criteria were included in the study. A liver biopsy was taken from each patient; one part of the biopsy was subjected to histopathology, and the other to flow cytometry. The histopathological examination revealed liver cell dysplasia in 60% of patients with liver cirrhosis (62% of them had large cell dysplasia [LCD] and 38% had small cell dysplasia [SCD]). Abnormal DNA content (aneuploidy) was found in 81.5% of positive liver cell dysplasia specimens and found only in 11.1% of negative liver cell dysplasia specimens, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Aneuploidy was found more commonly in LCD but without significant difference (P>0.05) in comparison with SCD. In conclusion, SCD (similar to LCD) is also associated with aneuploidy and elevated DNA index, and may carry the same risk for progression to hepatocellular carcinoma.