title: Clinical relevance of tumor ploidy and micronucleus formation for oral cavity cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the clinical relevance of tumor ploidy and micronucleus formation as prognostic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were treated with primary radiochemotherapy consisting of irradiation up to 70 Gy in combination with cisplatin. Cell cycle distribution, micronucleus formation and ploidy were evaluated by flow cytometry of biopsies taken before treatment and after irradiation to 10 Gy (5x2 Gy). Sexteen out of 28 patients relapsed after a minimum follow-up period of two years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Flow cytometry of the recurrence biopsy showed hyperpentaploid (5c exceeding) cells in 13/16 (81%) of the relapsed patients. In 7 patients the hyperploid clone was not present in the flow cytometry of the primary tumors. Ploidy could retrospectively be determined also by image cytometry in archival tumor material of the pretreatment specimens. Patients with a level below 100 5c cells per 10,000 cell nuclei were shown to have a significantly better prognosis than patients with more than 100 hyperpentaploid tumor cells. The micronucleus formation was 2-5 times higher in tumors showing a good response to treatment than in carcinomas relapsing within two years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 5c-exceeding ratio measured by image cytometry and micronucleus formation proved to be good prognostic parameters for the clinical outcome of patients with locally advanced head and neck carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medicine, Staedtische Kliniken Offenbach, Germany. ckolotas@aol.com
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kolotas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tonus
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cernea
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Vogt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Strassmann
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zamboglou
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011003:Ploidies; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm