title: DNA level, tumor thickness, and stereological estimates of nuclear volume in stage I cutaneous malignant melanomas. A comparative study with analysis of prognostic impact.
abstract: The mutual relation and prognostic value of three quantitative variables were investigated in a retrospective series of 56 stage I cutaneous malignant melanomas. Unbiased stereological estimates of nuclear volume, nuclear nu v were obtained along with measurements of melanoma thickness. The DNA index (DI) was determined by flow cytometry in adjacent sections from the same paraffin-embedded specimens. The correlation between tumor thickness and nuclear nu v was only moderate (r = .60). Euploid lesions had a smaller nuclear nu v than aneuploid tumors (2p = .01), but with considerable overlap. No significant association between tumor thickness and DI could be demonstrated. Single-factor analysis showed prognostic value of nuclear nu v and tumor thickness (2p = .0007 and 2p = .03, respectively), whereas DI was without prognostic impact (2p = .54). When analyzing the three parameters in a Cox model, nuclear nu v was the only independent, prognostically significant variable. Physical, three-dimensional nuclear volume is not solely a reflection of nuclear DNA content, and may represent a valuable, quantitative prognostic indicator in cutaneous malignant melanomas.
authors.affiliation: Stereological Research Laboratory, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grymer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000782:Aneuploidy; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008875:Middle Aged; D011003:Ploidies; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm