IMAGE CYTOMETRY ANALYSIS OF FEULGEN-STAINED NUCLEI IN 72 LIPOMATOUS LESIONS INCLUDING ATYPICAL LIPOMAS AND WELL-DIFFERENTIATED LIPOSARCOMAS

Well-differentiated lipomatous tumors constitute a histopathologic cat egory whose nomenclature has been controversial, particularly with res pect to the distinction between atypical lipomas of the extremities an d well-differentiated liposarcomas of the retroperitoneum. To determin e whether there were differences in image analytic parameters between these neoplasms, 72 lesions including 21 typical lipomas, 7 atypical l ipomas, 16 retroperitoneal and 5 nonretroperitoneal well-differentiate d, 9 dedifferentiated, and 14 pleomorphic liposarcomas were submitted to the computer-assisted microscopic analysis of Feulgen-stained nucle i. This methodology enabled four groups of variables to be calculated. These included: (1) quantitative chromatin pattern description (14 va riables); (2) the measurement of proliferative activity (1 variable); (3) nuclear DNA content (DNA ploidy level, 5 variables); and (4) the m easurement of cell density and topographical cell nuclei organization (2 variables), The results strongly suggest that atypical lipomas, whe ther superficial or deep, and well-differentiated liposarcomas, whethe r retroperitoneal or not, belong to the same category in terms of the variables analyzed.