Anal Quant Cytol Histol

Comparison of quantitative variables between patients with relatively normal and gastritis-altered mucosae.

Year 1998
Enchev VG. Gavrilova E.
Department of Pathology, Third City Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
OBJECTIVE: To develop a statistical (regression) analysis of quantitative patterns of human epithelial nuclear and cellular profiles from chronic atrophic and hypertrophic gastritis, excluding Menetrier's gastropathy. STUDY DESIGN: The study group consisted of 30 patients with chronic gastritis with or without intestinal metaplasia, including gastric dysplasia. The control group consisted of 25 patients with relatively normal mucosae. Both groups were compared with respect to changes in quantitative morphometric variables as well as nuclear DNA quantities. RESULTS: Specific interdependences between minor (BN) and major (LN) nuclear axis length and cellular caliper diameters (Bc) and (Lc) were stipulated; thus, the corresponding area features were determined by regression equations. The value of the L2 norm as differences between corresponding linear functions involved in the regression equations were also examined. Higher nuclear DNA content values were obtained from patients with chronic gastritis. CONCLUSION: Chronic gastritis appears to be an intermediate and crucial moment in the process of gastric mucosal malignant progression. The pentaploid (5C) region was found to be an intermediate and critical feature of chronic gastritis since values in the ploidy range higher than pentaploid have been found to potentially indicate a malignancy.

Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content in gastric and colorectal cancer.

Year 1998
Chistyakova OV. Zubrikhina GN.
Laboratory of Clinical Cytology, Cancer Research Centre, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
OBJECTIVE: Analysis of DNA ploidy and proliferative activity by flow cytometry (FCM) of gastric (GC) and colorectal cancer with morphology (histology and cytology) and prognostic correlation was performed. STUDY DESIGN: The study group consisted of 160 patients with GC (93) and colorectal cancer (CRC) (67). Tumor samples were taken by gastric and colon biopsy. All patients subsequently underwent surgery. DNA content was assessed using an ICP II cytometer (Phywe, Germany). Two samples were taken from the tumor, one for cytology and FCM and the other for histology. Macroscopically, unchanged mucosa served as a control group. Three types of DNA histogram were distinguished in accordance with the ploidy and proliferative activity of the tumor. RESULTS: The number of aneuploid and diploid tumors was the same in GC and CRC and reached 53% (49/93) and 66% (44/67), respectively (P > .05). Morphologic study discovered predominance of adenocarcinoma in both GC and CRC, with mainly poor differentiation (53/93) in GC and moderate and high differentiation in CRC (49/67). There was a large group of signet-ring cell GCs (18, 19.4%), while in CRC this was diagnosed in 4 (6.0%) cases only. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas were significantly more frequent among aneuploid tumors (41/49 in GC and 13/44 in CRC) than among diploid tumors (12/44 in GC and 0/23 in CRC). Five-year survival in GC (89) and CRC (64) strongly correlated with DNA histogram type. Survival was the highest in patients with DNA histogram type I (diploid tumor and poor proliferative activity). The poorest prognosis was associated with aneuploidy and high proliferative activity of cells (DNA histogram type III). CONCLUSION: The differences between DNA histogram types indicate that survival depends to a greater degree upon proliferative activity of tumor cells than upon tumor ploidy.

Direct relationship between hormone sensitivity level and growth pattern. Evidence in 18 gastrointestinal neoplastic cell lines.

Year 1998
Kiss R. Decaestecker C. Camby I. Darro F. Salmon I. Danguy A. Pasteels JL. Yeaton P.
Laboratoire d'Histologie, Faculte de Medecine, Hopital Erasme, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether a relationship exists in terms of growth pattern and hormone sensitivity in 18 gastrointestinal neoplastic cell lines. Hormones studied included gastrin, epidermal growth factor, estradiol and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone. STUDY DESIGN: The growth patterns were assessed by means of computer-assisted microscope analysis of Feulgen-stained nuclei combined with the mathematical Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi paving techniques. This methodology enabled four variables characterizing the cell colony patterns to be computed. The information contributed by these variables was analyzed by means of discriminant analysis and the decision tree technique. RESULTS: Each phenotype (sensitivity level) exhibited distinct growth pattern (or cell colony) characteristics in the case of each hormone and/or growth factor under study. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the gastrointestinal cell lines to a given hormone (or growth factor) appeared to be peculiar to the hormone (or growth factor). CONCLUSION: A direct relationship seems to exist between growth pattern and hormone sensitivity levels in gastrointestinal cancers, particularly colorectal.