Consistency of DNA ploidy between primary and recurrent gastric carcinomas

Eleven patients with gastric carcinoma, who had undergone re-resection of the lesion due to recurrence in the remnant stomach, were the subjects of a cytophotometric DNA analytical study. The objective was to determine whether or not the DNA cytogenic profile of cancer cells would be consistent during the growth of the carcinoma. The DNA distribution patterns were grouped into types I, II, and III, according to the proportion of aneuploid cell population. Ten of 11 had the same DNA distribution patterns in the primary and recurrent lesions, while in the other one patient with type III in the primary lesion, type II was evident at the time of recurrence. The DNA cytogenic profile of cancer cells is thus a valid cell marker of a given tumor and should be applicable for determining the natural history of gastric carcinoma.