Cytofluorometric analysis of metastases from lung adenocarcinoma with special reference to the difference between hematogenous and lymphatic metastases

Article Abstract:

As researchers study the finer details of cancer as a disease process, the technique of flow cytometry is being applied to cancer research. Flow cytometry uses an automated optical system to examine large numbers of cancer cells one by one and determine if they have reacted with some laboratory reagent. In many cases, researchers use the device with substances that react with DNA, and therefore the results obtained from the flow cytometer reflect the DNA content of individual cells within a tumor. In the case of many cancers, the presence of an abnormal amount of DNA represents a greater likelihood of poor patient outcome. This method has now been applied to the study of metastatic lung cancer. The DNA content was measured in lung cancer cells that had spread to the brain, liver, and lymph nodes surrounding the lungs; 20 specimens from each category were evaluated. Metastatic cancer cells in the lymph nodes have traveled from the original tumor and arrived at the nodes via the pathways of the lymphatic system. In contrast, cancer cells in the liver and the brain must have arrived at their new location by way of the blood stream. Investigation using the flow cytometer revealed that the metastatic cancer cells taken from the brain and liver had greater amounts of DNA per cell than did the original primary lung cancer. In contrast, the cancer cells from the lymph nodes had DNA amounts which were comparable to the primary cancer. One possible explanation for these findings is that the cells with the higher amounts of DNA represent a particularly group of cells within the original tumor. While more normal cells invaded, at most, the local lymph nodes, the more malignant cells with the higher amount of DNA freely travelled to invade distant organs. As the tumor growth continued in these new sites, the cells continued to reflect the higher DNA content of the cells which founded the colonies. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Lung cancer

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Comparison of S-phase fraction, working formulation, and Kiel classification in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Article Abstract:

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas have a wide range of malignant behaviors; some are very aggressive and even life-threatening therapy may be justified, while others are indolent and may be treated very conservatively. It is therefore important to have reliable and accurate procedures for distinguishing among the various grades of lymphoma that may occur. Unfortunately, this is not easy, and even expert pathologists may have different opinions on the microscopic appearance of some specimens. A study was conducted to compare the S-phase fraction with two of the more traditional methods of lymphoma grading, the Working Formulation and the Kiel classification. The S-phase fraction (SPF) is the proportion of cells that are in the process of synthesizing DNA. Measuring the S-phase fraction has become practical with the advent of flow cytometry, which determines the DNA content of tumor cells one-by-one automatically. These three methods of evaluating non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were applied in 245 cases that had been followed for an average of 89 months or until the patient died. All three methods proved to be useful predictors of mortality. There was strong correlation between SPF and both the Working Formulation and the Kiel classification methods. However, the SPF procedure provided some information that was independent of the other two methods. When only the lowest grade (best prognosis) lymphomas, determined by the other two systems, were considered, the patients with a low SPF did better than those with a high SPF. Similarly, patients with low SPF had a better prognosis than those with a high SPF when only high-grade tumors were considered. Therefore, the measurement of S-phase fraction may be useful in determining the best treatment procedures for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Prognosis, Lymphomas, Cell proliferation, Ploidy

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Flow cytometric determination of breast cancer heterogeneity

Article Abstract:

Flow cytometry provides a means for the quantitative measurement of the DNA content of cells in a tumor specimen. For a number of different cancers, abnormal DNA content has been associated with a poor prognosis. In the case of breast cancer, initial enthusiasm for the prognostic value of flow cytometry has been tempered by some dissent in the scientific community. One technical difficulty which might interfere with the effective collection of flow cytometric data from breast cancers is the sampling problem. Only a small sample is required for analysis, which is often assumed to be representative of the rest of the tumor mass. A study was conducted on 141 breast cancer specimens. Multiple samples for flow cytometry were taken from each specimen to determine how homogeneous (alike) the tumors might be with regard to DNA measurements. Fifty-two percent of the tumors tested had at least one sample that was identified as aneuploid (having an abnormal chromosome complement) by flow cytometry. In 18 percent of the tumors that were characterized as aneuploid by flow cytometry, there was at least one sample that appeared to be normal, or diploid. Disease outcome was not evaluated in the present study. Since numerous studies have implicated aneuploidy and abnormal DNA content as a prognostic indicator for breast cancer, the present study suggests that multiple samples must be evaluated from each cancer specimen to improve the reliability of the flow cytometry results. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Breast cancer, Cancer cells

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