Left-Sided Predominance and Family History of Malignancy in Colorectal Cancer with DNA Multiploidy

Terumitsu Sawai, Takashi Tsuju, Atsushi Nanashima, Masaaki Jibiki, Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, Tohru Yasutake, Toru Nakagoe, Hiroyoshi Ayabe and Yutaka Tagawa^*

First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine
^*The School of Allied Medical Sciences, University of Nagasaki

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between DNA multiploidy and tumor characteristics of colorectal cancer. Flow cytometric quantification of nuclear DNA content was performed on freshly frozen tissue from 245 patients who underwent surgical resection from 1990 to 1996, at First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine. The cases were classified into three groups according to DNA ploidy pattern as follows: 1) Dd group, 78 cases (31.8%) with DNA diploidy; 2) Dm group, 36 cases (14.7%) with DNA multiploidy; 3) Da group, 131 cases (53.5%) with DNA aneuploidy except for DNA multiploidy. The Dm group was associated with left colon (compared with Dd group, p=0.0069), absence of metastasis (compared with Da group, p=0.0095), and positive family history of extracolonic malignancy (compared with Dd and Da groups, p=0.031 and p=0.044, respectively). Of the 245 patients, 71 cases were randomly examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization for detection of numerical aberration of chromosome 17. The frequency of chromosomal aberration was lower in the Dm group than in the Da group (p=0.0068).

Key words
DNA multiploidy of colorectal cancer, Chromosomal instability of colorectal cancer, numerical aberration of chromosome 17 of colorectal cancer, family history of extracolonic malignancy

Reprint requests
Terumitsu Sawai First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8501 JAPAN

Accepted
June 22, 1999

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