DNA-PLOIDY STATUS IN 84 OCULAR MELANOMAS - A STUDY OF DNA QUANTITATION IN OCULAR MELANOMAS BY FLOW-CYTOMETRY AND AUTOMATIC AND INTERACTIVE STATIC IMAGE-ANALYSIS

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ploidy was quantified in 84 ocular melanom as (median follow-up, 11-years) by flow cytometry, CAS 200 interactive image analysis, and Pathology Image Processing Environment (PIPE; Dep artment of Quantitative Pathology, Free University, Amsterdam, The Net herlands) automatic image analysis (75). Overall, 32.1% of the melanom as were aneuploid, 2.3% were tetraploid, and 66.6% were diploid. Patho logy Image Processing Environment analysis estimated DNA ploidy in 12 tumors that were unprocessable by flow cytometry. Of 10 tumors that we re diploid by flow cytometry, PIPE detected stemline aneuploidy in fiv e and some aneuploid cells in five more. Seven tumors were aneuploid b y PIPE but diploid by CAS 200, five of which contained occasional DNA aneuploid cells on the CAS 200 histograms. Pathology Image Processing Environment analysis quantified tumor samples with an average of 500 ( 250 to 1,050) cells in less than 10 minutes. Ah cells classified as sp indle A according to the Callender system (more than 10,000) were dipl oid. Spindle B and epithelioid cells occupied both diploid and aneuplo id peaks on the DNA histograms. Dioxyribonucleic acid variables did no t correlate with established prognosticators, such as Callender cell t ype, largest tumor dimension, or glaucoma, nor did they reach signific ance by univariate and multivariate analyses. The value of these findi ngs as a diagnostic support in weal melanoma, particularly in combinat ion with fine needle aspiration biopsy, is discussed. HUM PATHOL 26:99 -105. Copyright (C) 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company