In vivo Aneuploidization during the Expansion of Renal Adenocarcinoma

Background/Aims: A correlation has been observed between DNA ploidy and other prognostic parameters such as tumor stage and grade. The present study evaluates tumor aneuploidization during renal adenocarcinoma expansion and growth. Methods: A total of 252 renal tumors were analyzed between 1969 and 2001. Evaluated variables were age, TNM, Fuhrman classification, histology, size and DNA. A tumor was homogeneous when all the samples were diploid or aneuploid, and a heterogeneous tumor was the coexistence of aneuploid and diploid samples, or all-aneuploid with different aneuploid clones. Results: A total of 224 tumors were included (coefficient of variation < 8). The DNA study classified 129 (57.6%) as diploid and 95 (42.4%) as aneuploid. The percentage of aneuploid tumors increased significantly with the pathological stage. Both aneuploid patterns were also significantly more frequent in advanced pathological stages. Tumors with multiple aneuploid clones (n = 17) were significantly more frequent in tumors measuring > 4 cm. Both aneuploid patterns showed no differences in survival (p = 0.83), indicating that the heterogeneous pattern probably represents an intermediate step between diploid and homogeneous aneuploid tumor status. Conclusions: The aneuploid pattern is more common in more advanced stages of the disease, with no clear correlation to primary tumor size. This suggests gradual aneuploidization with tumor expansion and growth. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel