Retrospective DNa analysis of T3/T4 breast carcinoma using cytophotometry and flow cytometry. A comparative study with prognostic evaluation.

Tumor cells from 72 patients with advanced breast carcinoma (T3/T4) were analyzed for their DNA content by cytophotometry and flow cytometry (FCM). Both methods were able to subdivide the tumors into groups with different prognoses. Patients with a normal/near-normal DNa content in the tumor had a better prognosis than did those with aneuploid tumors. FCM measurements of DNA content gave a better discrimination for both survival (P = .019) and disease-free survival (P = .059) than did cytophotometry (P = .105 and P = .067, respectively). These results indicate that FCM analysis of paraffin-embedded material is a more accurate method than is cytophotometry for characterizing the DNA content of breast carcinoma cells. The method could be useful in both retrospective studies and in daily diagnostic work.