Search

Forty-seven cases of breast cancer were analyzed for estrogen receptors (ERs) by three different techniques: (1) a biochemical assay using isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel; (2) a monoclonal ER immunocytochemical assay (ERICA, Abbott Laboratories Diagnostics Division), and (3) a polyclonal antiestradiol immunohistochemical technique using formalin-fixed tissue. A high level of agreement (85%) was noted between the biochemical assay and ERICA. The ERICA-processed slides showed minimal background staining and were easy to interpret. Compared with the biochemical assay, ERICA achieved a positive predictive value of 86% and a negative predictive value of 82%. In contrast, results from the polyclonal antiestradiol histologic technique did not correlate with biochemical results and showed positive and negative predictive values of 61% and 25%, respectively. The authors conclude that the ERICA technique should prove to be a valuable adjunct to traditional biochemical ER assays.

DNA measurements of 46 thyroid specimens were performed by use of fresh tissue for flow cytometry and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue for flow and static cytometry. The tissue included four histopathologic subgroups, i.e., 19 colloid goiters, 7 papillary carcinomas, 10 follicular adenomas, and 10 follicular carcinomas. The methods measured DNA index and the percentage of cells in S-phase for each subgroup. There was a strong correlation between the methods for DNA-index measurements. In three cases, tissue interpreted as diploid by one method was aneuploid by another method. The S-phase measurements were not reproducible between the methods because of the low percentage of cells in S-phase (mean: 2.6%; range: 0.0-7.5% overall). Aneuploid cells were rare in nodular goiter (2 of 19 cases, 10.5%) but were increasingly present in subsequent subgroups, i.e., 2 of 7 papillary carcinomas (28%), 3 of 10 follicular adenomas (30%), and 6 of 10 follicular carcinomas (60%).