Abstract
Nuclear DNA content was determined by the fluorescence cytophotometric method in imprint smears taken from 51 brain tumors. The values were compared to those obtained from normal areas of the cerebral white matter.
The histograms of the low grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas as well as the normal cerebrum showed a strictly diploid DNA pattern with a few nuclei found up to tetraploid. Similar DNA pattern was noted in the meningiomas. The schwannomas had also diploid DNA stem lines but a small group of nuclei were found up to 16-ploid.
In contrast, the anaplastic astrocytomas, glioblastomas and metastatic carcinomas showed the resembling histograms having a flattness of the mode, deviation of the stem line to the right, and increased incidence of polyploid and aneuploid cells. The medulloblastomas also displayed an abnormal nuclear DNA pattern with distribution from the diploid to octaploid region, but they had only a few cells over the octaploid region as compared with the anaplastic astrocytomas or glioblastomas.
