Semiautomated measurement of rapidly hydrolyzed DNA in the diagnosis of mammary carcinoma.

A modified Feulgen procedure combined with integrating microdensitometry was used to quantify the rapidly hydrolyzed DNA fractions in nuclei obtained from primary carcinomas of the human breast. The method, which was semiautomated by interfacing the microdensitometer with a Research Machines 380Z microcomputer (Research Machines, Ltd., Oxford, UK), could distinguish malignant carcinomas from benign breast lesions. It is proposed that the semiautomated assessment of rapidly hydrolyzed DNA fractions could serve as a reliable additional parameter on which to diagnose breast malignancies.