DNA content and genetic evolution of human colorectal adenocarcinoma. A study by flow cytometry and cytogenetic analysis

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Abstract
We have conducted in parallel DNA flow cytometry (FCM) and cytogenetic (CG) analysis of a series of surgical specimens from 35 human colorectal adenocarcinomas. An excellent quantitative correlation was observed (r = 0.99) between modal peak values of FCM histograms and chromosome counts. This observation confirms that aneuploidy, as defined by FCM, accurately reflects the deviation from diploidy of the genomic DNA. FCM‐derived DNA patterns have been analyzed in the context of the clonal chromosomal evolution determined by CG analysis. In the metaphases of a given tumor, even if karyotypes of different ploidy exist, the presence of identical marker chromosomes suggests a common origin for the multiple populations observed by FCM. Thus, heterogeneity in DNA content within a tumor, including the polyploidization step, would be indicative of genetic evolution.