Flow cytometric analysis of nuclear DNA content in tongue squamous cell carcinoma: relation to cervical lymph node...

The relationship between DNA ploidy and the incidence of cervical lymph node metastasis in 36 patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was investigated. The aneuploidy rate of tongue carcinomas was 15/36 (42%), and the mean DNA index (DI) was 1.23, with a range from 0.87 to 3.54. Histologically identified cervical lymph node metastasis was observed in 11 cases, and the incidence of the cervical lymph node metastasis was significantly (P < 0.02) higher in the aneuploid cases (8/15) than in the diploid cases (3/21). Recurrence of the primary lesions was seen in nine cases 0.3-2.5 years after the initial treatment. No obvious difference in the incidence of the recurrence was noted, however, between the diploid (5/21) and the aneuploid (4/15) cases. These results indicate a significant relationship between aneuploidy and incidence of the regional lymph node metastasis, in contrast to the absence of a positive relationship between aneuploidy and recurrence of tongue SCC.