title: Cytophotometry of breast carcinoma. Acridine-orange DNA microfluorimetry with Giemsa counterstain.
abstract: Investigations have suggested that a correlation exists between DNA ploidy levels and prognosis in human breast carcinoma. Nuclear DNA content can be studied by flow cytometry or cytophotometric analysis. While both methods yield comparable results for DNA distribution, cytophotometry has the advantage of permitting both quantitative cell measurements and cytomorphologic identification of tumor cells. Microfluorimetric analysis of nuclear DNA content was carried out on acridine-orange-stained imprint smears of malignant breast tumors, with the DNA values plotted as a histogram distribution. Quantitative fluorescence measurements of breast carcinoma cells using the acridine-orange stain appeared to be a fairly rapid and simple method for DNA determination as compared to Feulgen DNA analysis. Following cytometric measurements, imprint smears were counterstained by the Giemsa stain and examined by cytomorphologic criteria. With the Giemsa counterstain, the same cytologic preparation could be studied both by quantitative cell measurements and by conventional cytomorphologic criteria. Results are illustrated, and possible implications of the use of this method in the study of tumor behavior and the diagnosis by cytologic methods are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000165:Acridine Orange; D000782:Aneuploidy; D001399:Azure Stains; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004171:Diploidy; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D001399:Azure Stains; D004247:DNA; D000165:Acridine Orange