Is DNA aneuploidy a prognostic factor in gastric cancer?

Flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy was performed on an archival material obtained from 79 patients with gastric cancer who underwent a potentially curative (R0) stomach resection with D2 lymphadenectomy, and evaluated its relationship to conventional pathologic parameters, TNM stage and prognosis. No significant association between DNA aneuploidy and either patients' sex, depth of tumor infiltration (pT), lymph node involvement (pN), histological type according to Ming, macroscopic type according to Borrmann or tumor localization was found. However, the incidence of DNA aneuploidy was significantly lower in tumors of diffuse type according to Lauren, in tumors of signet ring cell or undifferentiated type according to WHO classification, in poorly differentiated/undifferentiated tumors and in patients younger than 50 years. We found no significant difference in survival between patients with DNA aneuploid tumors and those with DNA diploid tumors. Although the prognosis of patients with tumors of lower DNA index (DI < 1.2) tended to be better than for those of higher DNA index (DI > 1.2), the difference did not reach a statistically significant level (p = 0.09). TNM stage, depth of tumor infiltration (pT) and lymph node involvement (pN) were the only factors that significantly affected survival in univariate analysis and both pT and pN retained their independent prognostic significance in multivariate analysis.