Correlation between DNA content and p53 deletion in colorectal cancer.

Objective: To find out whether tumour DNA content correlates with allelic loss of p53 and other pathological features in primary colorectal carcinomas.

Design: Ongoing prospective study.

Setting: University hospital, Italy.

Colonic cell proliferation in normal mucosa of patients with colon cancer.

Cell kinetics parameters have been analysed in colonic mucosa at different distances from a tumour in patients with colon carcinoma. Total cell number (TCN), 3H thymidine labelling index (TLI), mitotic index (MI), Goblet cell index (GCI) and the distribution of labelled cells along the crypt column (cell position frequency plot) were determined in well-aligned crypts. Total cell number, GCI and the labelled cell position frequency plots were similar in different samples from the same individual.