Influence of menopause on the cell kinetics of normal, hyperplastic, and malignant endometrium.

We investigated whether menopause influences the cell kinetics of normal, hyperplastic, and malignant endometrium. As a preliminary step, immunochemical staining for proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and flow cytometric analysis were performed in 25 endometrial specimens. A weak but significant correlation between the percentage of PCNA-positive cells and the proliferation index indicated that flow cytometric analysis was useful for cell kinetics study. Then cell kinetics were analyzed in a total of 198 endometrial specimens by flow cytometry. Subjects were classified as premenopausal and postmenopausal. The proliferation index and DNA ploidy pattern for each type of endometrium were examined in these two groups. The proliferation indices of normal endometrium and G1 endometrial cancer were significantly lower in postmenopausal women. The aneuploid pattern was detected only in postmenopausal women with endometrial cancer. The current results showed that menopause influences the cell kinetics of normal endometrium and G1 endometrial cancer.