[Objective evaluation of nuclear grade in preoperative aspiration materials from breast cancers--special reference to the relationship of coefficiency variant of nuclear area with pathological prognostic features].

The prognostic significance of cytomorphometry was investigated in 84 invasive ductal breast cancer patients. All patients were clinically followed for at least 5 years after radical mastectomy. The value of coefficiency variant of nuclear area (NA.CV) calculated from morphometor had good correlation with nuclear grade determined subjectively by cytologist on optical microscope. NA.CV in patients who had metachronous metastases (39.0 +/- 7.5%) was significantly higher than that in recurrence free cases (26.8 +/- 4.9%). The recurrence free period was also related to the value of NA.CV. In 39 cases (90.7%) out of 43 recurrence free survivors, the value of NA.CV was less than 30%, whereas it was over 40% in 11 (45.8%) out of 24 cases with short time (less than two years post operatively) metastases. NA.CV was the most variable, independent prognostic factor among several pathological prognostic features. The data assessed in this study showed that the value of NA.CV on cytological materials as the objective evaluation of nuclear grade may provide clinically relevant information with respect to the degree of malignancy and prognosis of patients with breast cancer at preoperative period.