FLOW CYTOMETRIC AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CORRELATIONS IN HIGH-INCIDENCE HUMAN SOLID TUMORS

475 patients with carcinoma at different sites (141 colon-rectum; 102 breast; 50 stomach; 48 kidney; 46 head and neck; 41 bladder; 47 other sites) submitted to surgery have been analysed after histopathological staging and grading, by flow cytometry (monoparametric DNA content an alysis) and immunohistochemistry (p53, c-erbB-2, and PCNA expression). In breast cancer patients the presence of receptors for estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PGR) has also been determined. Flow cytometry-deriv ed parameters were DNA ploidy, fraction of cells in S-phase (SPF), and DNA content heterogeneity (multiclonal stem cell lines with different DNA index and/or more than one subpopulations with different ploidy l evels in different samples from the same tumor). Correlations of the r esuits obtained by the different techniques have been attempted by the non-parametric Spearman's rank correlation approach. Significant asso ciations (P <0.05) were found between the histopathological, immunohis tochemical and flow cytometric parameters considered in some anatomica l regions, such as stomach (p53 vs DNA content aneuploidy and vs heter ogeneity), colon-rectum (TNM vs p53 and vs heterogeneity), bladder (gr ading vs DNA content aneuploidy and vs heterogeneity). Tumor heterogen eity proved to be dependent on the number of tumor samples taken. The results of this preliminary assessment will subsequently be compared w ith the data obtained from a currently ongoing follow-up survey.