INTERPHASE CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF CERVICAL INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA

The aim of this study was to detect numerical chromosomal aberrations that may be involved in the progression of cervical intraepithelial ne oplasia (CIN) toward cervical carcinoma, Therefore, cervical lesions ( five CIN 1, seven CIN 2, six CIN 3, six invasive carcinomas, and six n ormal samples) were studied by in situ hybridization (ISH) on serial 3 -mu m-thick paraffin tissue sections, using a panel of eight centromer ic DNA probes for chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 17, and X. An estimat ion of the percentage of dysplastic epithelium with abnormal ISH signa ls per nucleus was made. Chromosome aneusomy could be detected in all persisting and high-grade CIN lesions and invasive carcinomas, In most cases, when one of the chromosomes showed aneusomy then all studied c hromosomes showed numerical changes, Interestingly, the abnormal ISH s ignals were found only in a varying part of the morphologically dyspla stic epithelium, the remainder showing no such changes, In aneuploid r egions of the CIN 1 lesions the mean chromosome index for all chromoso mes was 1.97 +/- 0.03 with a range of 1.92 to 2.00, The chromosome ind ex ratios of chromosomes 1, 7, and X showed a significant positive cor relation with CIN grade (r greater than or equal to 0.74; P less than or equal to 0.006). It is concluded that chromosome aneusomy of chromo somes 1, 7, and X may be involved in the progression of CIN lesions.