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Significance of proliferative activity and DNA ploidy in pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis

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Summary

Background

Precise preoperative assessment of diagnosis and prognosis in patients with pancreatic tumors would facilitate improvement of treatment strategies. In this context, we evaluated the significance of the proliferative index and of static DNA cytophotometry in the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic tumors.

Methods

Consecutive surgical specimens from 26 patients with ductal pancreatic cancers and eight patients with chronic pancreatitis were investigated by:

  1. 1.

    Staging;

  2. 2.

    Conventional histological and cytological grading;

  3. 3.

    MIB-1 (Ki-67 labeling) proliferating index; and

  4. 4.

    Static DNA cytophotometry.

Results

All patients with chronic pancreatitis had a normal MIB-1 labeling index and a euploid DNA content. In contrast, patients with pancreatic cancers rarely had a normal labeling index (1 of 26 patients) or a euploid DNA content (6 of 26 patients). Staging significantly correlated with survival time. However, it did not correlate with cytological criteria. Cytological criteria, such as conventional grading, MIB-1 proliferating index, and DNA ploidy, were not significantly correlated with survival time. Conventional grading was significantly correlated (p<0.02) with proliferating index, but not with DNA ploidy.

Conclusion

Proliferating index and DNA ploidy are relevant cytological markers that can help to discriminate between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. The prognostic significance of these markers in pancreatic cancer patients, however, seems to be less relevant than tumor stage and of limited relevance for the individual cancer patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Pathology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

    Hagen Loertzer, Raoul Hinze & Friedrich-Wilhelm Rath

  2. Institute of Pathology, Klinikum Bernburg, Germany

    Jürgen Knolle

  3. Gastrointestinal Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Inselspital University of Bern, 3010, Switzerland

    Adrian Schmassmann (Leitender Arzt)

Authors
  1. Hagen Loertzer
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  2. Raoul Hinze
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  3. Jürgen Knolle
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  4. Friedrich-Wilhelm Rath
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  5. Adrian Schmassmann
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Loertzer, H., Hinze, R., Knolle, J. et al. Significance of proliferative activity and DNA ploidy in pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. Int J Gastrointest Canc 26, 77–83 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02781734

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02781734

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