V. Petrozza1,2, F. Verna2, L. Lenti2, F. Carpino2
1Department of General Surgery “Paride Stefanini”
2Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology and University of Rome “La Sapienza”
The most important factor influencing prognosis in breast cancer is its biological aggressiveness, generally expressed by parameters such as tumor size, number of metastatized lymph nodes, histological grade and receptors status. In recent years, the proliferative rate of tumors has been widely investigated in an attempt to define additional prognostic factors. New factors have thus been proposed to evaluate the DNA content and cellular cycle of neoplastic cells (1-5). Tumor cell nuclear DNA content has been recognized as "one of the best prognostic indexes" in a wide range of human cancers. Barlogie suggested that the presence of an abnormal DNA stemline (DNA aneuploidy) should be regarded as "the single most reliable marker of neoplasia". |
