Response of DNA ploidy to chemotherapy in primary and metastatic lesions in human osteosarcomas

Primary and pulmonary metastatic and pulmonary metastatic tumors (two synch ronous and seven metachronous metastases) in nine patients with osteosarcom as were studied by DNA cytofluorometry. All patients were treated with both pre and postoperative chemotherapy. The results showed that all five diplo id osteosarcomas and three of the four aneuploid tumors did not markedly ch ange their ploidy pattern after preoperative chemotherapy, and had almost t he same ploidy patterns as the pulmonary metastatic lesions. Those eight tu mors showed poor histologic response and chemoresistance by the doxorubicin binding assay. Only one aneuploid osteosarcoma showing good histologic res ponse and chemosensitivity changed its ploidy pattern to diploid, with the disappearance of aneuploid tumor cells and its synchronous pulmonary metast atic tumor also showed conversion to a diploid pattern with massive tumor n ecrosis. It is evident that those tumors showing no change in their ploidy pattern after chemotherapy were resistant to the chemotherapy. Therefore, w e conclude that regardless of whether the pulmonary metastatic tumors were synchronous or metachronous, they showed the same change in their ploidy pa ttern as well as their chemosensitivity as the primary human osteosarcoma f rom which they were derived. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rig hts reserved.