PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE IN MALIGNANT-MELANOMA OF NUCLEAR-DNA CONTENT MEASURED BY A MICROFLUORIMETRIC METHOD

The nuclear DNA content of 47 primary malignant melanomas was measured by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-DNA (DAPI-DNA) microfluorimetry, and the DNA index, a quantitative measure of nuclear DNA content, was cal culated. The DNA index and other clinical and pathological variables w ere examined and compared with patient survival using univariate and m ultivariate analyses, The Kaplan-Meier life table method revealed that the DNA index and metastases to regional lymph nodes significantly co rrelated with patient survival. A Cox proportional hazards multivariat e analysis demonstrated that the DNA index, which was not significantl y correlated with other variables, was the most reliable and independe nt factor for predicting patient survival.