A. Bergquist et al., Can DNA cytometry be used for evaluation of malignancy and premalignancy in bile duct strictures in primary sclerosing cholangitis?, J HEPATOL, 33(6), 2000, pp. 873-877
Background/Aims: The significance of DNA ploidy determinations for diagnosi
ng cholangiocarcinoma (CC) in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) has not
previously been evaluated. Knowledge of tumour cell ploidy by DNA cytometry
may facilitate the evaluation of malignant and premalignant lesions in PSC
.
Methods: Twenty-eight patients with CC were studied; 10 of the patients had
PSC. Seventeen samples from 15 patients with PSC but without CC were used
as controls for benign strictures. Gallbladder tissue from 100 patients wit
h chronic cholecystitis was also analysed. DNA was measured using flow cyto
metry on cells from paraffin-embedded tissues.
Results: Tumours from patients with PSC displayed non-tetraploid DNA aneupl
oidy significantly more often (80%) than tumours from patients without PSC
(39%) (p<0.05). CC from patients with PSC significantly more often displaye
d DNA aneuploidy: 80% (8/10) compared with 12% (2/17) in bile ducts in PSC
without CC (p=0.0007). The frequency of DNA aneuploidy in gallbladder tissu
e from patients with chronic cholecystasis was 1% (1/100).
Conclusion: The high prevalence of DNA aneuploidy in PSC-related CC and the
low prevalence in benign PSC strictures point to DNA cytometry asa possibl
e future method for detecting malignant and premalignant changes in bile du
ct strictures in patients with PSC. This method may be useful in selecting
PSC patients for liver transplantation.