NUCLEAR-AREA AND DNA CONTENT IN TUMOR AND NONTUMOR PORTIONS OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

The nuclear area and DNA content between tumor and nontumor portions o f hepatocellullar carcinoma (HCC) were compared. Thirty pairs of impri nt smears were made from surgical specimens and stained with a modifie d Feulgen reaction. Two hundred nuclei were scanned with a microdensit ometer at a wavelength of 550 nm. DNA histograms were plotted with lym phocytes as the internal control. Nuclear areas of 200 cells in each c ase were measured with Minimagiscan image analyzer. Hyperploidy (DNA i ndex > 1.1) was 76.7% and 53.3% in tumor and nontumor portions, respec tively. The S-phase fraction value was 7.9 +/- 3.5% (+/-SD) and 4.1 +/ - 2.4% in tumor and nontumor portions of HCC (p < .001). The mean nucl ear area of the tumor portion was significantly larger than that of it s corresponding nontumor portion (232.9 +/- 68.1 vs. 137.6 +/- 15.5 mu m(2), P < .001). Marked anisonucleosis was found in both the tumor an d nontumor portions of HCC. The mean coefficient of variation of mean nuclear areas teas 27.8 +/- 10.4% and 22.9 +/- 4.9% in the tumor and n ontumor port ions, respectively (P < .05). DNA ploidy can elated well with mean nuclear area in the tumor portions (r = .730) but not in the nontumor ones. The results indicate that the three most important cyt ologic criteria of malignant cells-hyperchromatism, nuclear enlargemen t and anisonucleosis-are evident in both the tumor and nontumor portio ns of HCC.