Correlation between p53 Status, DNA Ploidy, Proliferation Rate and Nuclear Morphology in Breast Cancer. An Image Cytometric Study

The study was designed to detect differences in the nuclear morphology of tumours and tumour cell populations with different p53 expression in correlation with DNA ploidy and proliferation rate. The paraffin sections from routinely processed samples of 88 breast cancers were immunostained with the monoclonal p53‐antibody DO‐1. After localization and evaluation with a scoring system the sections were destained and stained by the Feulgen method. The nuclei were relocated automatically and measured by means of the image cytometry workstation. Significant differences between the tumours and tumour cell populations with different p53 expression were found in the euploid tumours as well as in the aneuploid tumours and in the breast cancers with a high proliferation rate. The breast cancers with a low immunoreactive score (IRS 1–4) differ from the negative cancers as well as from the cancers with a higher immunoreactive score (IRS 5–12). Evaluating the nuclear populations of the p53 positive cancers, there were differences in the features of the chromatin amount and distribution in the groups of the euploid breast cancers and in cancer with a high proliferation rate. In contrast, the nuclear populations of the aneuploid cancers did not show any differences in their nuclear morphology

Morphological Heterogeneity of p53 Positive and p53 Negative Nuclei in Breast Cancers Stratified by Clinicopathological Variables

The study was aimed to detect differences in nuclear morphology between nuclear populations as well as between tumours with different p53 expression in breast cancers with different clinicopathological features, which also reflect the stage of tumour progression. The p53 immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin sections from 88 tumour samples. After the cells had been localised by means of an image cytometry workstation and their immunostaining had been categorised visually, the sections were destained and stained by the Feulgen protocol. The nuclei were relocated and measured cytometrically by the workstation

DNA Ploidy and Chromosomal Imbalances in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer. A Comparative Study of DNA Image Cytometry and Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH)

Chromosomal imbalances were analyzed in 62 breast cancers with different DNA ploidy by CGH. The results of DNA image cytometry and CGH are consistent with peridiploid and aneuploid cases. The peritetraploid tumors harbored a high number of chromosomal imbalances, as a hint for an unfavorable prognosis. The quantitative analysis of imbalances highlighted the role of different physical constituents of the chromosome, and of chromosomal losses in different DNA ploidy groups. The peritetraploid and aneuploid tumors differed from the peridiploid tumors in losses at 8p and 18q. The peritetraploid cancers exhibited more gains at 8q, the aneuploid tumors more losses at 17p than their peridiploid counterparts. The aneuploid cases differed from the peritetraploid tumors in a higher number of losses at 11q and 14q. Combinations of imbalances provide further insights into the genetic background of DNA ploidy. Hypotheses for the progression from peridiploid to nondiploid breast cancers are given