Clinical significance of DNA ploidy pattern in stage III gastric cancer

Nuclear DNA contents from stage III gastric cancers of 216 patients undergoing curative resection from 1972 to 1987 were measured by flow cytometry using paraffin-embedded materials. To determine the clinical significance of the DNA ploidy pattern, the correlation between it and conventional clinicopathologic findings was studied and a prognostic factor for gastric cancer was investigated by both univariate and multivariate analysis. Survivals were compared for diploidy and aneuploidy patterns in subclasses of stage III gastric cancer as well. The grade of each clinicopathologic factor showed no differences between diploidy and aneuploidy patients. The multivariate analysis revealed that the p value and Hazard ratio of the DNA ploidy patterns were 0.001 and 2.099, respectively. Consequently, it was a valuable independent prognostic factor that could be used in addition to lymph node metastasis and depth of invasion. For the most advanced subclass of stage III gastric cancer the 5-year survival rate of patients with a diploid tumor was significantly higher than that for those with aneuploid tumor. No difference was observed for the other subclasses. These results indicate that the DNA ploidy pattern is a valuable independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer, and that it is more useful for evaluating the prognosis of patients with more advanced lesions undergoing "curative resection."