[Hydroxyprolinuria and bone metastases of breast cancer]. / Idrossiprolinuria e metastasi ossee da carcinoma della mammella.

The urinary excretion of Hydroxyproline (OH-P), evaluated as OH-P/creatinine ratio, has been examined in the follow up of 142 breast cancer patients. The mean value obtained in the women with bone lytic lesions, prior to treatment, was 5.3 +/- 1.9 (min. 3, max. 9), whereas in the women without bone metastases it was 1.7 +/- 0.5 (min. 0.6, max. 3), similar to the control group. The patients affected by osteoplastic lesions had a normal OH-P/creatinine ratio. The highest values of OH-P/creatinine ratio were found in women with bone marrow infiltration, ascertained by bone needle biopsy. In the group of patients with bone lytic metastases, a good correlation between changes of OH-P/creatinine ratio and response to hormonal or chemotherapeutic treatment has been observed. Therefore the OH-P/creatinine ratio could be effectively useful, with other clinical parameters, in the follow up of breast cancer patients.

Apocrine cells in breast cyst fluid and their relationship to cyst type: a morphometric study.

The morphology of apocrine cells exfoliated in breast cyst fluid (BCF) was studied in 78 BCF samples obtained from 39 premenopausal patients with gross cystic disease who were bearing two simultaneously aspirated cysts. 57/78 samples showed cell clusters suitable for computer-assisted cytometry. This was performed on 5820 cells using a Leitz Texture Analysis System (TAS). We measured the surface areas of cytoplasm, nucleus and nucleolus; we also calculated the nuclear/cytoplasmic (N/C), nuclear/nucleolar (N/n) ratios and the nuclear roundness factor (RF). Cysts were divided according to the cationic pattern of BCF: Type I, K+/Na+ greater than 1.5; Type II, K+/Na+ less than 0.66. The cytometric analysis was made on 47 samples of Type I and 10 samples of Type II. At the light microscope, no difference was apparent between the apocrine cells coming from Type I or Type II cysts. Cytometric measurements showed significant differences for the apocrine cells aspirated from Type I vs. Type II cysts for the mean cytoplasmic area (97.13 +/- 24.28 S.D. mu2 vs. 59.66 +/- 14.90 S.D. mu2, respectively) and the mean nucleolar area (4.35 +/- 0.99 S.D. mu2 vs. 2.75 +/- 0.71 S.D. mu2, respectively). Our data do not allow the inference of apocrine changes in the epithelium lining the cysts simply from the cationic pattern of BCF. The significantly wider cytoplasm and nucleoli of the apocrine cells aspirated from Type I cysts could reflect different functional stages of these particular cells.

Cytofluorimetric evaluation of DNA ploidy in the diagnosis of bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between urinary cytology, traditional indexes of malignancy of bladder carcinoma and DNA-ploidy (diploid, near-diploid, aneuploid). METHODS: 52 specimens of bladder cancers (transitional cell carcinoma) were obtained from 46 patients at TURB and from 6 patients at radical cystectomy. In every specimen the nuclear content of DNA was investigated using the cytofluorimetric method. Cells were processed in standard fashion for flow cytometry with propidium iodide staining; cellular suspension was obtained mechanically. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were used as diploid standard. Bladder cytology was performed in every patient. RESULTS: A relationship between DNA-ploidy and histological malignancy was observed. The largest portion of near-diploid neoplasm was observed in stage T1, grade G2 malignancies. In some cases negative bladder cytology occurred together with aneuploid DNA content, whilst in other cases positive bladder cytology occurred together with diploid DNA content. In consequence there is not always a relationship between bladder cytology and DNA-ploidy. CONCLUSIONS: Since observed correlations may point out some neoplasms with particular biological behaviour, follow-up of near-diploid malignancies is of great interest.