Open AccessCellular dna content parameters in untreated and recurrent squamous cell cancers of the head and neck
Author(s) -
Ensley John F.,
Maciorowski Zosia,
Hassan Mohammad,
Pietraszkiewicz Haline,
Heilbrun Lance,
Kish Julie A.,
Tapazoglou Efstathios,
Jacobs John R.,
AlSarraf Muhyi
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
cytometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1097-0320
pISSN - 0196-4763
DOI - 10.1002/cyto.990100313
Subject(s) - aneuploidy , lymph node , flow cytometry , dna , pathology , head and neck , lymph , stage (stratigraphy) , head and neck cancer , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , medicine , cancer , surgery , genetics , chromosome , paleontology , gene
The presence and degree of DNA aneuploidy as measured by the DNA index (DI) and the S phase fraction (SPF) were determined by flow cytometry in 294 specimens from 237 patients with untreated and recurrent squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN). A descriptive analysis was performed in which the specimen DNA parameters were correlated with stage, size of primary, degree of lymph node involvement, morphological grade, and treatment status of the corresponding patients. Approximately 70% of the previously untreated specimens contained DNA aneuploid populations (DI > 1.10) and three quarters had SPF that were above 15%. There was a strong, direct as sociation between DI and SPF ( P < 0.001). There was no correlation of the presence or degree of DNA aneuploidy with the stage of the tumor or the size of the primary or conventional morphological grade of the tumor. Specimens from patients with recurrent tumors and untreated patients with N 3 lymph nodes had significantly lower rates of DNA aneuploidy and mean DI. Serial determinations of DNA aneuploidy in patients with SCCHN undergoing cytotoxic therapy are ongoing and may prove useful in the identification and understanding of resistance and response in this tumor.