Nuclear DNA and endocrine activity in carcinomas of the breast

In a running study of nuclear DNA profiles of female breast carcinomas, 60 consecutive tumors were collected and stained with the Grimelius argyrophil reaction for the identification of endocrine tumor cells. Four (6.7%) tumors were argyrophilic, and they all displayed diploid nuclear DNA values. The argyrophil tumors constituted 20% of the diploid breast carcinomas. One of the tumors was examined electron microscopically and exhibited an abundance of intracytoplasmatic granules of neurohormonal type. In none of the four carcinomas could the endocrine activity be inferred from the morphologic appearance alone, since all could be grouped in regular histopathologic terms. Since the frequency of endocrine cells in unselected materials of breast adenocarcinomas is very low, a relationship exists between diploid nuclear DNA values and with neurohormonal production in these tumors.