[Flow cytometric DNA analysis of pediatric solid tumor]

Ninety nine case of various solid tumors in children were clinically and histologically investigated and the findings were compared with the data obtained by flow-cytometric DNA analysis using paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. Most of the embryonal tumors such as neuroblastoma, nephroblastoma, or medulloblastoma tended to show a diploid DNA stemline (65.2%) in comparison with non-embryonal tumors (45.2%) (p less than 0.025). Aneuploid cases of embryonal tumors in children disclosed histologically rather differentiated appearances, and with a favorable clinical outcome. On the other hand, non-embryonal tumors in children revealed in general an aneuploid DNA stemline and higher rate in high grade malignancy, resembling that of the malignant neoplasms in adult. These prominent features of the flow-cytometric DNA analysis of the embryonal tumors in children suggest that there are some differences in the tumor cytogenetics or histogenesis between the embryonal tumors and the non-embryonal tumors.