Cytophotometric and interference microscopic investigations in carcinomas of the oral cavity

The DNA content and the nuclear dry mass of 18 keratinized squamous cell carcinomas and their metastases, of one adamantinoma recurrence and two adenoid cystic carcinomas of the oral cavity were determined in comparison to the normal buccal mucosa using Feulgen scanning cytophotometry and interference microscopy. The squamous cell carcinomas could be classified into five groups based on their DNA distribution pattern. The nuclear dry mass and its variation were found to be different from the normal mucosal epithelial cells in all cases. No differences could be found between diploid cells and cells of a higher degree of ploidy. Therefore the relation of nuclear dry mass and DNA content appeared to be lower in cells of higher DNA ploidy. This fact is discussed in relation to the underlying molecular biological processes. This leads to the conclusion that the increase of the nuclear dry mass (mainly protein) precedes the increase of the DNA content. The combined measurement of DNA content and nuclear dry mass allows a better characterization of malignancy than each of the nuclear components measured alone. The difference of nuclear dry mass between malignant cells and normal mucosal epithelial cells is more sensitive than the deviation of the DNA content owing to the fact that malignant tumours with normal DNA content exist.