Cytochemical Studies of Prostatic Epithelium: I. The Desoxyribose Nucleic (DNA) Content in Individual Cells

Abstract

As an approach to the diagnosis of malignancy of the prostatic epithelium, deoxyribose nucleic acid content was determined in 2261 cells from 15 benign and normal prostates and 25 carcinomas, using Feulgen microspectrophotometry. Benign enlargements had essentially normal DNA content. Malignant cells showed the scatter and buildup of DNA values. The possibility of using DNA measurements as a diagnostic aid in questionable tumors is discussed.