Prognostic value of mitotic metaphase rate in oesophageal cancer

Objective: To assess the prognostic value of the mitotic metaphase rate in patients with oesophageal cancer. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: University hospital, Japan. Subjects: 41 patients with oesophageal cancer. Interventions: We calculated the ratio of mitotic metaphase to anaphase cel ls among tumour cells in sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin, a ra tio that shows the status of mitotic metaphase-anaphase transition. The DNA ploidy pattern was examined by flowcytometry. Main outcome measure: Correlation between survival and mitotic metaphase ra te. Results: A high mitotic metaphase rate was correlated with vascular invasio n and is expected to be a useful prognostic factor. DNA diploidy combined w ith a low rate was an independent favorable prognostic factor. Conclusion: Mitotic metaphase rate is a useful index of malignant potential , independent of DNA ploidy. It can distinguish high malignant potential fr om low in a diploid tumour, which has a poor prognosis that is equal to tha t of the aneuploidy tumour.