FURTHER TESTING OF THE VALUE OF A MEASUREMENT PROTOCOL FOR DNA-PLOIDYSTUDIES USING IMAGE CYTOMETRY - COMPARISON OF RESULTS OBTAINED FROM CYTOLOGIC AND PARAFFIN SECTION PREPARATIONS

OBJECTIVE: To apply DNA image cytometry (ICM) to 53 tissue sections of breast cancer and skin melanomas. STUDY DESIGN: DNA ICM was performed on 6-mu m-thick sections with a commercially available ICA I system, strictly following a previously developed measurement protocol. The hi stograms were classified according to Auer. RESULTS: In 48 of the 53 c ases (90.6%, kappa=.84) there was complete agreement in the Auer class . Discrepancies were one class 1-2 and one class 1-3 shifts (cytocentr ifuge samples class I); one case was class 2 in the section and class 3 in the cytocentrifuge sample, and two cases were class 4 in the cyto logic and class 3 in the histologic specimen. CONCLUSION: By paying ca reful attention to the measurement protocol and technical quality of t he material, for certain tumors with relatively small nuclei and limit ed nuclear overlap, reliable DNA ICA I results can be obtained in most cases from 6-mu m-thick tissue sections that are comparable to those from single-cell preparations.