The prognostic significance of ploidy analysis in operable breast cancer

Article Abstract:

For the best chances of survival, it is critical to detect breast cancer prior to the spread of the cancer cells. However, even in patients with no indications of cancer cells in their lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis, there is about a 30 percent chance of relapse and death within 10 years. It would obviously be beneficial to predict which patients are at the highest risk for relapse, as well as to know why these patients are different from those who survive. One technique that may provide useful insights into these questions is the measurement of DNA in cancer cells using the method of flow cytometry. This automated method measures DNA on a cell-by-cell basis, and can indicate how fast the cancer cells are multiplying and whether their chromosome content is normal (diploid) or abnormal (aneuploid). The flow cytometric measurements may be performed on surgical specimens in archives, and therefore it is possible to make measurements and immediately compare the measurements to data on long-term patient survival. This was done in the cases of 98 patients with operable breast cancer; 28 of the patients had no indications of cancer in their lymph nodes at the time of initial treatment. Follow-up revealed that 36 patients developed recurrent breast cancer; 11 recurrences were local recurrences in the chest and 25 were distant metastatic cancers. The time to recurrence ranged from eight months to five years. Flow cytometry revealed that only 23 percent of the primary breast cancers were diploid. However, while 65 percent of the cancers that did not recur were aneuploid, 94 percent of the recurrent cancers had abnormal numbers of chromosomes. Among the patients with negative lymph nodes, the ploidy of the tumor was the only statistically significant predictor of outcome. Ploidy also proved to be a more important predictor of outcome among postmenopausal women than among premenopausal women. The authors suggest that among node-negative patients with breast cancer, aneuploid cells may be an indicator for a subset of patients who would benefit from more aggressive adjuvant treatment of their cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Prognosis, Cell proliferation

---

DNA analysis of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: a comparison with histologic features

Article Abstract:

Recent advances in both diagnostic methods and public awareness have led to more cases of breast cancer being detected while still in the earliest stages. However, these advances have also led to new questions. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a form of breast cancer that has not yet begun to invade the tissue which surrounds it. In the past, the diagnosis of DCIS was so infrequent that few data have been gathered indicating the best modes of treatment. Now that new diagnostic methods, particularly mammography, are resulting in increasing numbers of cases of DCIS, it becomes important to determine the best methods for evaluating and treating this condition. The authors have applied the laboratory technique of flow cytometry to the evaluation of DCIS. By measuring the DNA in individual cancer cells, this technique can provide information about the rate at which a cancer is growing and the possible presence of chromosome abnormalities. In a study of 56 specimens of DCIS, the authors found a correlation between the appearance of the cancer under the microscope and indications of abnormal chromosomes, as determined by flow cytometry. A total of 41 percent of the cancers were aneuploid, that is, had other than the normal diploid complement of chromosomes within their cell nuclei. When these cancers were divided into low-, intermediate-, and high-grade tumors on the basis of the appearance of the cell nuclei under the microscope, the fraction of aneuploid tumors was 24, 41, and 69 percent, respectively, for the three grades. Considering the long survival periods of patients diagnosed and treated for DCIS, it will likely be decades before sufficient survival data have accumulated to indicate the effects of these factors on case outcome. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Carcinoma in situ, Pathology, Carcinoma, Ductal, Ductal carcinoma

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Association between DNA ploidy pattern and cellular atypia in colorectal carcinomas: a new clinical application for DNA flow cytometric study?
• Abstracts: Lack of relationship between perioperative blood transfusion and survival time after curative resection for gastric cancer
• Abstracts: Dissociation between systemic and mucosal humoral immune responses in coeliac disease. part 2 Partial lipodystrophy in coeliac disease
• Abstracts: Unsuspected Chlamydia trachomatis infection in heterosexual men attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic: evaluation of risk factors and screening methods. part 2

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.