COMPUTERIZED IMAGE-ANALYSIS AND FLOW CYTOMETRIC EVALUATION OF OVARIANBORDERLINE TUMORS - A STUDY OF 24 CASES

DNA content evaluation in the study of ovarian borderline tumors has b een shown to he a useful adjunct to histopathologic diagnosis, This st udy compares flow cytometry and computerized image analysis (CIA) in e valuating the DNA content of these lesions. Twenty-four cases of ovari an borderline tumors (15 serous, 9 mucinous) were studied utilizing fo rmalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Flow cytometry of cell suspensi ons and CIA of cell suspensions and paraffin sections were compared in the evaluation of DNA content. Twenty-three tumors (96%) were diploid and only 1 (4%) was aneuploid, There was 100% correlation between flo w cytometry and CIA of cell suspensions, Image analysis of Feulgen-sta ined paraffin sections was found to be unreliable when compared with t he use of cell suspensions in the evaluation of DNA content. Clinical follow-up in 17 patients showed recurrent disease in two patients with diploid tumors and no evidence of disease in the patient with an aneu ploid tumor, The reported rate of aneuploidy in borderline tumors vari es depending on the diagnostic method employed in evaluating DNA conte nt, This study shows good correlation between flow cytometry and image analysis of cell suspensions and supports the low rate of aneuploidy found in these lesions by other authors utilizing these methods. The m ajority of borderline ovarian tumors have been shown to have a diploid DNA content; however, the finding of aneuploidy in histologically cla ssified borderline tumors warrants close clinical follow-up since aneu ploidy in these tumors has been associated with an adverse prognosis. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.