RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Reproducibility of flow cytometric assessment of follicular tumours of the thyroid.
JF Journal of Clinical Pathology
JO J Clin Pathol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
SP 260
OP 263
DO 10.1136/jcp.42.3.260
VO 42
IS 3
A1 T P van Thiel
A1 J C van der Linden
A1 J P Baak
A1 M M van de Sandt
A1 C van Galen
A1 P D Bezemer
YR 1989
UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/42/3/260.abstract
AB The reproducibility of the DNA index of paraffin wax sections from 44 follicular tumours of the thyroid (18 follicular adenomas and 26 follicular carcinomas), which had been assessed by flow cytometry was analysed in two laboratories, using consecutive sections of the same specimens and two different commercially available flow cytometers. Two slightly different cell preparation and staining techniques were used in the two laboratories. Using strictly defined criteria the histograms were classified blind as diploid, peritetraploid, aneuploid, or inadequate and insufficient by two independent investigators. Both the concordance between the two different flow cytometers and the agreement of duplicate assessments within the same flow cytometers were assessed. The mean coefficient of variation of the G0/G1 peak of the diploid tumours in the PARTEC flow cytometer was 5.5 (range 2.3-9.8) and in the FACS flow cytometer 5.2 (range 3.7-8.3); this difference was not significant. There was concordance of classification between the two laboratories in 35 of 36 cases. In 25 cases (18 diploid, seven aneuploid) the intralaboratory variation showed a 100% concordance in histogram classification. It is concluded that flow cytometer DNA index assessment of follicular tumours of the thyroid is reproducible and can be used to evaluate the discriminating and prognostic value of this feature.