Retrospective study of prognostic value of DNA ploidy and proliferative activity in neuroblastoma.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the prognostic value of age and stage at diagnosis, site of primary tumour, cell ploidy and N-myc copy number in children with neuroblastoma.


METHODS
Flow cytometry was used to determine the cellular DNA content of paraffin wax embedded archival material from 69 cases of neuroblastoma and was successful in 52.


RESULTS
The age, stage, and survival distribution of the sampled cases was not significantly different from that in a larger population based series. There were seven diploid ("non-aneuploid") and 45 aneuploid (including two tetraploid and four triploid) tumours. The 10 year survival was significantly better for cases of aneuploid rather than diploid tumours (p < 0.05). An important new finding was that 10 year survival was also significantly better for tumours with a low percentage of cells in S phase (p < 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage of cells in S phase, a measure of the proliferative activity of the tumour, correlated with prognosis in neuroblastoma. This should be measured with other biological features of the disease, such as N-myc copy number, when prognostic indicators are being assessed.
Huddart
S N
SN
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, Manchester.
Muir
K R
KR
Parkes
S E
SE
Mann
J R
JR
Stevens
M C
MC
Raafat
F
F
Smith
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000782:Aneuploidy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D004171:Diploidy; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics*; D011003:Ploidies; D011379:Prognosis; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000235:genetics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016196:S Phase; D015996:Survival Rate
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc