title: Diagnostic significance of flow cytometric DNA analysis applied for the detection of cancer cells in bronchial washing fluid.
abstract: Since both DNA aneuploidy and increased proliferative activity are important characteristics of malignant neoplasms, flow cytometric (FCM) analysis was used to examine the cell content in bronchial washing samples obtained via fiberoptic bronchoscopy from 73 patients. The results were compared with the results of histology and conventional cytology. The patients included 30 with bronchial carcinomas, 12 with bronchopneumonia and 31 with no evidence of lung disease. Of the 30 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancers, 25 showed either aneuploid stem lines (19 cases) or high levels of proliferation (6 cases) as determined by analysis of cell-cycle stages. The same rate of cancer cell detection was obtained by cytology. In the 43 cases with neither histologic nor clinical evidence of malignancy, FCM data yielded 5 false-positive results, as compared to 4 erroneous suspicions of cancer by cytology. From these data, it is concluded that FCM measurements of both DNA ploidy and proliferative activity may complement conventional cytology in the recognition of bronchial carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Erlangen-Nünberg, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deinlein
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Greiner
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Hornstein
mesh_terms: D001991:Bronchitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA