Background: N-myc gene amplification is a well-established prognostic indicator in neuroblastoma. Flow cytometric analysis of nuclear DNA content has shown that an abnormal nuclear DNA content in neuroblastoma is associated with a better prognosis. Because some patients with N-myc unamplified tumors have a poor prognosis, factors other than N-myc amplification may play a role in determining the clinical behavior of neuroblastoma. In the current study, the authors correlated N-myc gene amplification and flow cytometric nuclear DNA content with respect to prognosis.
Methods: Forty-one patients with neuroblastoma, including 15 screened patients, served as subjects. The copy number of the N-myc gene was determined by Southern blot analysis. DNA ploidy analysis was done on nuclei isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks.
Results: Of 40 specimens of neuroblastoma, 7 involved tumors containing amplification of the N-myc gene and 33 did not; 13 specimens showed DNA diploidy, and 27 showed DNA aneuploidy (including 4 with DNA tetraploidy). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated a significantly better prognosis in patients with unamplified N-myc tumors compared with those with N-myc amplified tumors (87.3% versus 28.6%, P < 0.05) and in patients with DNA aneuploid tumors compared with those with DNA diploid tumors (96.3% versus 43.0%, P < 0.001). The difference in the survival of the two extreme combinations, (e.g., 25 with N-myc unamplified and DNA aneuploidy [4 tetraploidy] versus 5 with N-myc amplified and DNA diploidy) was more significant (96.0% versus 20.0%, P < 0.001) than any other combination.
Conclusion: Evaluations of N-myc gene amplification and DNA ploidy are complementary, and the combined determination of these two factors may be one of the most powerful prognostic indicators in neuroblastoma.