[Cytostatic therapy of GI carcinoma based on assessment of cell kinetics (author's transl)]

Flow cytometry affords an insight into the cell cycle of gastrointestinal tumors. In comparison with the normal GI mucosa, dedifferentiated carcinomas show a large SG2M peak expressing an intense proliferation. The histological examination considers normally only a small part of the tumor, whereas the flow cytometric histogram is based upon a larger amount of cells. Therefore some tumors are regarded as well differentiated by the pathologist, although they have a large SG2M peak. Considering the functioning of cytostatic drugs, all GI tumors should be treated which have a large SG2M peak in flow cytometry.