PROLIFERATING-CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY IN THE EVALUATION OF GASTROINTESTINAL SMOOTH-MUSCLE TUMORS

Current methods do not provide a way always to distinguish benign from malignant gastrointestinal smooth-muscle tumors. We compared immunocy tochemical assessment of proliferating-cell nuclear antigen expression with flow cytometry and mitotic figure-counting as a prognostic marke r in 85 gastrointestinal smooth-muscle tumors. Although proliferating- cell nuclear antigen expression was associated with poor prognosis in univariate statistical analysis, it was not significant in multivariat e proportional hazards models that included either the mitotic index o r aneuploidy of the flow-cytometric G(2)M peak. We conclude that proli ferating cell nuclear antigen assessment is not warranted in the routi ne evaluation of gastrointestinal smooth-muscle tumors.