Flow-cytometric DNA content and S-phase fraction values as a prognostic factor on nasopharyngeal cancer — A preliminary report

It is known that the DNA content of the nuclei and proliferation activity can serve as useful prognostic factors in a variety of neoplasms, such as cancer of the breast, prostate, and cervical uterine. However, there is still no clear data about this correlation in the nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Flow-cytometric analysis provides an accurate, more objective, rapid and relatively simple examination, compared with other techniques. Our preliminary results of 24 undifferentiated carcinoma out of 25 NPC biopsy specimens demonstrated that there were wide distributions of SPF value (4.2% - 44.8%), ploidy pattern (26% vs 74% for diploid and aneuploid respectively), and DNA index value (0.75 - 2.72). Further study analyzing the responsibility all of those parameters to the radiation response, local and distant control, and survival rate is still underway.