DNA Cytometry and Nuclear Morphometry in Ovarian Benign, Borderline and Malignant Tumors.
Ovarian carcinoma is a leading cause of death in gynecological malignancy. Ovarian surface epithelial serous and mucinous tumours are classified as benign, borderline, and malignant. The identification of borderline tumours most likely to act aggressively remains an important clinical issue.


OBJECTIVE
This work aimed to study DNA ploidy and nuclear area in ovarian serous and mucinous; benign, borderline and malignant tumours.


METHODS
This study included forty ovarian (23 serous and 17 mucinous) tumours. Paraffin blocks were sectioned; stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histopathologic and morphometric studies and with blue feulgen for DNA analysis.


RESULTS
All four serous and six out of nine mucinous benign tumours were diploid. All eight serous and five mucinous malignant tumours were aneuploid. Nine of eleven (81.8%) serous and all three mucinous borderline tumours were aneuploid. There were highly significant differences in mean aneuploid cells percentage between serous benign (1.5%), borderline (45.6%) and malignant (74.5%) (p = 0.0001) and between mucinous benign (13.2%) and both borderline (63.7%) and malignant (68.4%) groups (p = 0.0001). There were significant differences in nuclear area between serous benign (26.191%), borderline (45.619%) and malignant (67.634 %) and a significant positive correlation between mean percentage aneuploid value and mean nuclear area in all serous and mucinous groups.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that DNA ploidy and nuclear area combined, may be adjuncts to histopathology; in ovarian serous and mucinous benign, borderline and malignant neoplasms; identifying the aggressive borderline tumours.
Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Amina A Gamal
AA
El Din
Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Manal A
MA
Badawi
Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Shereen E Abdel
SE
Aal
Community Medicine Research Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Nihad A
NA
Ibrahim
Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Fatma A
FA
Morsy
Pathology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Nermeen M
NM
Shaffie
DNA ploidy; Ovarian; borderline; mucinous; nuclear area; serous