[Microspectrophotometric DNA analysis in ulcerative colitis with special reference to its application for cancer and...

The DNA content was measured by microspectrophotometry from 100 specimens in 60 patients with ulcerative colitis including six complicating carcinoma. In dysplastic 23 (77%) of 30 samples showed aneuploidy or polyploidy, whereas in non-dysplastic tissues 50 (94%) of 53 samples were diploid, the difference being statistically significant. Polyploidy was often observed in the non-dysplastic mucosa of the patients complicating cancer or dysplasia. In non-dysplastic patients all samples with inflammation showed diploidy, however 10% of samples without inflammation showed polyploidy. A good correlation was found between the incidence of polyploid cells and the grade of dysplasia. From this study it was assumed that microspectrophotometric measurement of DNA content is useful in the assessment and diagnosis of dysplasia in ulcerative colitis and can be available in the screening of high-risk patients.