Gastric cancer cell DNA content correlates with early and late results after gastrectomy.

The DNA content of 59 adenocarcinomas of the stomach in patients who had undergone subtotal or total gastrectomy more than 5 years before was measured. The DNA measurements were done by flow cytometry performed on Propidium Iodide--stained cells disaggregated from paraffin-embedded tissues. Fifty-nine evaluable good quality histograms of DNA ploidy patterns were obtained. The Proliferative Index (PI) was determined in 35 cases. The remaining 24 cases didn't show a reliable reading histograms. Of the 59 tumors, 33 (56%) were diploid and 26 (44%) were aneuploid; 19 showed a high PI (> or = 3.8%) and 16 a lower one. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (diploid/aneuploid and low/high PI) compared to the prognostic values known as T, N and Stage. 65% of the T3-T4 cancers, 54% of the N1-N2 lesions and 58% of the stage III and IV were found to be aneuploid. 73.7% of the 19 tumors presenting high PI, showed an aneuploid pattern. A high PI was found in 71.4% of the T3-T4 tumors. 77.4% of patients of the diploid group (any stage) survived at 5 years against 36% of those presenting aneuploid patterns. Patients with PI > or = 3.8% showed a 42.1% 5-year survival rate. A 94.4% 5-year survival rate of diploid and early stage cancers was documented against a 33.5% of aneuploid and advanced stage cancers.