Clinical implications of gene dosage and gene expression patterns in diploid breast carcinoma.

Purpose: Deregulation of key cellular pathways is fundamental for the survival and expansion of neoplastic cells. In cancer, regulation of gene transcription can be mediated in a variety of ways. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of gene dosage on gene expression patterns and the effect of other mechanisms on transcriptional levels, and to associate these genomic changes with clinicopathologic parameters.

Four potential biomarkers as prognostic factors in stage III serous ovarian adenocarcinomas.

The mortality rate for patients with ovarian carcinomas is high and the available prognostic factors are insufficient. The use of biomarkers may contribute to better prediction and survival for these patients. We aimed to study the gene and protein expressions for 7 potential biomarkers, to determine if it is possible to use them as prognostic factors.

DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction and associations with 2-18F-fluoro-deoxy-2-D-glucose positron emission tomography findings before and during therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of fine needle aspiration (FNA) of neck node metastases in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) for evaluating changes in DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction (SPF) during cytotoxic treatment. The results of flow cytometric (FCM) and image cytometric (ICM) analyses of ploidy were compared. Secondly, the association of SPF and ploidy with the metabolic rate (MR) of 2-18F-fluoro-deoxy-2-D-glucose (FDG) in positron emission tomography (PET) was studied.

Histopathological and cell biological factors of ductal carcinoma in situ before and after the introduction of mammographic screening.

With the introduction of mammographic screening the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has increased to 10-15% of all breast cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there were any morphological and cell biological differences between DCIS detected during the pre-screening (n = 39) as opposed to the screening period (n = 120). We could not demonstrate any statistically significant differences between the pre-screening and the screening period with regard to nuclear grade, presence of necrosis, the Van Nuys classification system, growth pattern, or cell biological factors (estrogen and progesterone receptors, c-erbB-2, p53, DNA ploidy status, Ki67, and Auer classes).

Proliferative index obtained by DNA image cytometry. Does it add prognostic information in Auer IV breast cancer?

Objective: To investigate whether the S + G2/M fraction (proliferative index) is a prognostic determinant in breast cancers classified as Auer IV.

Study Design: Prognostic evaluation of Auer IV DNA histograms with respect to the high versus low S + G2/M fraction, obtained by image cytometry on consecutive breast cancer imprint preparations.

Results: When studying recurrence-free survival (n = 136), the prognostic value of S + G2/M was found to vary with time: it was negligible before the median time to relapse (1.