The diagnostic value of flow cytometric analysis of DNA content heterogeneity for breast carcinomas

Abstract

Background : There is little information about the diagnostic value of DNA heterogeneity for breast carcinoma. In this study, DNA content heterogeneity in breast carcinoma, breast benign lesion and breast normal tissue was analyzed to evaluate its diagnostic value for breast carcinomas. Methods : Surgical fresh specimen was minced into cell suspension, which was fixed with 70% ethanol and stained with DAPI. The stained cells were measured by FCM. Results : 1. DNA content analysis showed that all normal tissues and benign lesions are homogeneous. There was only one G0/G1 peak in DNA histogram although 15.32% of benign breast lesion showed slight shift of G0/G1 peak. 78.72% breast carcinomas had aneuploidy stemlines. 70.21% of breast carcinomas were heterogeneous, which included more than two stemlines. DNA content heterogeneity in FNA from 20 cases of breast carcinomas was also detectable. It suggested that DNA content heterogeneity was specific for breast carcinomas. As a diagnostic marker, its specificity, sensitivity and accuracy were 100%, 70.21% and 84.15%, respectively. Conclusion : Measurement of DNA heterogeneity by FCM could provide more diagnostic information for breast carcinomas.