DNA Ploidy and S-phase Fraction in Breast Cancer.
- Author:
Chang Hwan LEE
1
;
Young Ha LEE
;
Jang Soo SUH
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, Medicine School, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Breast cancer;
DNA ploidy;
S-phase fraction
- MeSH:
Aneuploidy;
Breast Neoplasms*;
Breast*;
Diploidy;
Disease-Free Survival;
DNA*;
Female;
Flow Cytometry;
Humans;
Lymph Nodes;
Menopause;
Ploidies*;
Prognosis
- From:Journal of the Korean Surgical Society
1999;57(5):645-652
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Histological differentiation, status of hormonal receptors, size of tumor, and status of axillary lymph nodes are known prognostic factors in breast cancer. Recently, the DNA ploidy and the S-phase fraction have been considered as relating to parameters affecting the prognosis of cancer patients. METHODS: The authors measured the DNA ploidy and the S-phase fraction and evaluated their significance as prognostic factors in breast cancer. Their correlation with tumor size, lymph-node involvement, pathologic differentiation, status of hormonal receptors, menopause, and survival duration were also analyzed. The DNA ploidy and the S-phase fraction were checked with an FAC scan (Becton Dikinson, U.S.A.) and a cell fit (Becton Dikinson, U.S.A.) using the fresh breast-cancer tissue from 104 patients. RESULTS: The ploidy analysis showed that 32% of the tumors were diploid and 68% were aneuploid. There was significance in the pathologic differentiation, but no significance in the other prognostic factors. The median S-phase fraction was 8.9%, and it was used as a cutoff point. Forty-nine percent (49%) of the tumors were greater than 8.9%, and 51% were less than it. There was significance in the status of hormonal receptors. There was no significance in the relation between these factors and the disease-free survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: Even though these results suggest that the DNA ploidy and the S-phase fraction determined by using flow cytometry are not clinically useful independent prognostic factors, it will be necessary to measure them in a large number of patients and then follow those patients so that a multivariate survival analyses can be performed to evaluate the clinical significance of these factors.
