A flow cytometry (FCM) study of 35 Kaposi's sarcomas (KS) from HIV+ patients (Meeting abstract).

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

A flow cytometry (FCM) study of 35 Kaposi's sarcomas (KS) from HIV+ patients (Meeting abstract).

J Pathol; 168(Suppl):113A 1992. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/93689089
El-Jabbour J; Wilson G; Henry K; Hawkins D; McLean K; Sannino P; Barrett M; Dept. of Histopathology Charing Cross and Westminster Medical; Sch., London, UK

Abstract: KS is a common disease in HIV+ patients and is a marker of their progression to AIDS. However, it is not yet clear whether KS is a neoplastic or a hyperplastic process. Recent FCM studies on sporadic KS (from HIV- individuals) have shown a low rate of DNA-aneuploidy. We document here the results of a FCM analysis of 35 KS lesions (20 cutaneous and 15 noncutaneous) excised from 30 HIV+ individuals and discuss the implications as to the nature of KS. Three 50-um thick formalin-fixed paraffin sections were cut and processed by a modification of Hedley's method. The presence of KS in the analyzed sections was verified, and at least 10,000 single nuclei events were collected for each specimen. Median coefficient variation was 5.19 (range 3.5-11.3). Two cases (an axillary lymph node and a skin) out of 35 KS lesions were aneuploid with a DNA index of 1.14 and 1.22, respectively. The proliferative fraction (%S+G2/M) was high in these two cases (29.7% and 31.8%), compared with a median of 15.87% in the 33 diploid cases (range 7.6-30%). Diploid KS lesions of either a capillary or a cavernous hemangiomatous pattern displayed a higher %S+G2/M than those KS with a mixed vascular pattern (chi2, DF1 [p less than 0.05 but greater than 0.02]); this finding is being investigated further. No correlation with growth phase, cellular pattern, mitoses, nuclear atypia, lymphocytic response or size is found. A low aneuploidy rate (5.7%) is shown in HIV+ KS similar to that reported in KS from HIV individuals, thus suggesting that at least a small proportion of KS may be genuinely neoplastic. KS seems to have a high %S+G2/M; comparison of this finding with FCM of granulation tissue and malignant vascular tumor is providing interesting results which should give further insight into the nature of KS.

Keywords: Aneuploidy DNA, Neoplasm/GENETICS *Flow Cytometry Human HIV Seropositivity/*PATHOLOGY Lymph Nodes/PATHOLOGY Sarcoma, Kaposi's/*PATHOLOGY Skin/PATHOLOGY Skin Neoplasms/*PATHOLOGY ABSTRACT
930330
M9331094

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