FLOW CYTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CONSECUTIVE LYMPH-NODE SAMPLES FROM PATIENTS WITH HODGKINS-DISEASE - REPRODUCIBLE WITHIN ONE BIOPSY

In Hodgkin's disease DNA aneuploidy is not a prognostic factor. Howeve r, the prognostic significance of DNA content in Hodgkin's disease may be missed by either intratumor DNA heterogeneity or DNA analysis of l imited samples. For flow cytometry usually one section of 40-60 mu m i s used for the analysis. In breast cancer this proved to be insufficie nt. In Hodgkin's disease no data are available. Therefore, we examined if analysis of more sections does increase the yield of aneuploidy. A rchival, formalin-fixed, parafin embedded tissues were used. From 13 p atients four sections of 50 mu m could be analysed for DNA content. In 12 of 13 patients the results were consistent in all four sections of one patient case; seven diploid, four aneuploid and one multiploid. I n one case ploidy status changed: two sections were diploid and two we re aneuploid. The DNA-index of the aneuploid samples ranged from 0.75 to 1.38 and varied from 0.02 to 0.14 within one case. The S-phase frac tion remained constant within all evaluable cases (sd: 0.5-1.5%), exce pt for one (sd: 4.7%). In conclusion, in Hodgkin's disease the ploidy status of the first section can be regarded to represent the whole tis sue sample. Therefore, the absence of prognostic value of ploidy statu s is not explained by sampling errors in tissues analysed.