THE EFFECT OF AGE AND DNA-PLOIDY ON THE PROGNOSIS OF NEUROBLASTOMA - A CYTOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDY

Seventy-eight resected specimens of neuroblastoma were analyzed cytomo rphologically to clarify their cytological characteristics in relation to prognosis and compared with 47 Wilms' tumors. The nuclear area of the tumor cells was measured using an image analyzing computer techniq ue, Flow cytometric DNA analysis was performed in 64 of the neuroblast oma specimens. The specimens of neuroblastoma from patients under 1 ye ar of age and the Wilms' tumor specimens were cytomorphologically simi lar to normal fetal and embryonic cells, with a small and comparativel y uniform nuclear area. The neuroblastoma specimens showed marked chan ges in cytomorphology with increasing age, characterized predominantly by a significantly larger nuclear area in specimens from patients mor e than 2 year of age. The DNA ploidy pattern of the neuroblastomas sho wed no correlation to prognosis, when prognosis among the same age gro ups were compared. There was a larger number of aneuploid cases in the younger patients. The age-related difference in the prognosis of neur oblastoma correlates with age-related differences in cytomorphology.