POLYMORPHISM OF SPERMATOCYTIC SEMINOMA - A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY

Spermatocytic seminoma (SS) is one of the testicular tumours. It is di stinguished from other germ cell neoplasms by a special type of polymo rphism. The aim of the present study was a morphometric analysis (Micr oplane II image system) of this phenomenon. In histological slides we measured the profile area of nuclei in about 500 adjacent cells. The b asic material consisted of 12 cases (c.) of infiltrating SS, and the c omparative material included intracanalicular SS (IcSS-1c.), other typ es of seminoma - typical (TS-2 c.), anaplastic (AS-2c.) and spermatoge nesis in an elderly man (Sg-1 c.). We carried out a statistical analys is of the populations of cellular nuclei: we determined nuclear popula tion similarities and differences, as well as their relation to variou s types of standard distributions such as Erlang, gamma, lognormal, no rmal and Weibull. Part of the SS histograms including IcSS showed simi larities. The mean value of the profile area range from 32.5 to 56.5 m u m(2) In other types of seminomas this value was much higher. The Kol mogorov-Smirnov two-sample test showed differences between the compare d nuclear populations. Lack of the differences was found only between certain SS (including IcSS). The results of comparisons of the populat ions studied with standard distributions showed that the analysed nucl ear populations can be successfully described by more than one theoret ical distribution. However, among the spermatocytic seminomas analysed , in contrast to TS and AS, we found distributions not corresponding t o any of the standard distributions. The results of our findings argue also against the occurrence of haploid nuclei in SS cells. In slides from SS there were forms much larger than the nuclei of spermatocytes in Sg. In combination with the data concerning ploidy of the neoplasm we postulate that SS nuclear polymorphism is dependent both on maturat ion and atypia.