CHANGES OF CELLULAR MORPHOLOGY AND NUCLEAR-DNA CONTENT IN DIFFERENT NASOPHARYNGEAL EPITHELIUM FROM DIFFERENT PATIENTS

Cellular morphology and nuclear DNA content were measured with point-c ounting technique and flow cytometry (FCM) respectively in normal naso pharyngeal epithelium (NE), tissue adjacent to carcinoma (ATC) and nas opharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The results showed that all 20 patients w ith NE showed diploid, whereas 38 (38%) of 101 patients with NPC, 7 (5 8%) of 12 patients with recurrent NPC, 6 (30%) of 20 patients with ATC and 2 (33%) of 6 patients with NE positive to EBVCA-IgA test showed n ondiploid. A total of 19 morphometric parameters of the cell were meas ured and calculated. The results showed that with malignant transforma tion of NE, most of the cellular morphometric parameters gradually inc reased in numerical values while no marked difference was shown betwee n normal NE and simple hyperplasia or metaplasia in terms of cytomorph ometric characteristics. Most of the parameters in dysplasia changed s ignificantly as compared with those normal NE, simple hyperplasia or m etaplasia and NPC groups. Cytomorphometric analysis seems to give stro ng support to the concept that dysplasia is among the transitional sta ges of disease process between normal NE and NPC. Our results show tha t morphometric analysis and FCM may offer valuable and objective crite ria in the early diagnosis of NPC and premalignant disease.