Summary
Paragangliomas from 22 patients with extraadrenal tumours of this type were studied. Neuroendocrine features were examined using immunohistochemical techniques. Twenty-two antisera raised against neuroendocrine “markers”, regulatory peptides, serotonin and intermediate filament proteins were studied in this group and cytometric DNA assessments were made by means of image cytometry. One normal and 5 hyperplastic carotid bodies were used as controls in the DNA cytometric investigations. Clinical and/or histopathological evidence of “malignancy” was present in 5 cases. The tumour cells showed heterogeneity with regard to their expression of different peptides, and the immunohistochemical analyses did not permit differentiation between benign and malignant paragangliomas. An euploid nuclear DNA distribution pattern was found in all controls and in 17 of the tumours; all except 1 were clinico-pathologically benign. An aneuploid DNA pattern was observed in 5 of the cases and some malignant features were present in 4 of these cases. DNA data may give further information apart from that obtained from the histopathological findings which may be of value in predicting the biological behaviour of this tumour type.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achilles E, Padberg B-C, Holl K, Klöppel G, Schröder S (1991) Immunocytochemistry of paragangliomas-value of staining for S-100 protein and glial fibrillary acid protein in diagnosis and prognosis. Histopathology (in press)
Auer GU, Caspersson T, Wallgren A (1980) DNA content and survival in mammary carcinoma. Anal Quant Cytol 3:161–165
Auer GU, Eriksson E, Azavedo E, Caspersson T, Wallgren A (1984) Prognostic significance of nuclear DNA content in mammary adenocarcinomas in humans. Cancer Res 44:394–396
Auer GU, Askensten UG, Ahrens O (1989) Cytophotometry. Hum Pathol 20:518–527
Barnes L, Taylor SR (1990) Carotid body paragangliomas: a clinico-pathologic and DNA analysis of 13 tumors. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 116:447–453
Bishop AE, Bretherton-Watt D, Hamid QA, Fahey M, Shepmerd N, Valentino K, Tatemoto K, Ghate MA, Bloom SR, Polak JM (1988) The occurrence of pancreastatin in tumors of the diffuse neuroendocrine system. Mol Cell Probes 2:225–235
Caspersson T, Kudynowski J (1980) Cytochemical instrumentation for pathological work. Int Rev Exp Pathol 21:1–54
Driel-Kulker AMJ van, Mesker WE, Velzen I van, Tanke HJ, Feichtinger J, Ploem JS (1985) Preparation of monolayer smears from paraffin-embedded tissue for image cytometry. Cytometry 6:268–272
Falkmer UG (1989) Methodological aspects on DNA cytometry. Image and flow cytometry on malignant tumours of the breast, the endometrium, the brain, and the salivary glands. Thesis, Faculty of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, pp 1–171
Fallenius A, Askensten UG, Skoog L, Auer GU (1987) The reliability of microspectrophotometric and flow cytometric nuclear DNA measurements in adenocarcinoma of the breast. Cytometry 8:260–266
Glenner G, Grimley PM (1974) Tumors of the extra-adrenal paraganglion system (including chemoreceptors). In: Atlas of tumor pathology, series 2, fascicle 9. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington DC, pp 1–90
Granger JK, Houn H-Y (1990) Bilateral familial carotid body paragangliomas. Report of a case with DNA flow cytometric and cytogenetic analyses. Arch Pathol Lab Med 114:1272–1275
Grimelius L, Wilander E (1980) Silver stains in the study of endocrine cells of the gut and pancreas. Invest Cell Pathol 3:3–12
Hacker GW, Grimelius L, Danscher G, Bernatzky G, Muss W, Adam H, Thurner J (1988) Silver acetate autometallography; an alternative enhancement technique for immunogold-silver staining (IGSS) and silver amplification of gold, silver, mercury and zinc in tissues. J Histotechnol 11:213–221
Hamid QA, Varndell JM, Ibrahim NB, Mingazzini P, Polak JM (1987) Extraadrenal paragangliomas: an immunocytochemical and ultrastructural report. Cancer 60:1776–1781
Hsu S-M, Raine L, Fanger H (1981) Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase technique: a comparison between ABC and unlabeled antibody (PAP) procedures. J Histochem Cytochem 29:577–580
Kliewer KE, Cochran AJ (1989) A review of the histology, ultrastructure, immunohistology, and molecular biology of extraadrenal paragangliomas. Arch Pathol Lab Med 113:1209–1218
Kliewer KE, Wen DR, Cancilla PA, Cochran AJ (1989) Paragangliomas: assessment of prognosis by histologic, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural techniques. Hum Pathol 20:29–39
Linnoila RI, Lack EE, Steinberg SM, Keiser HR (1988) Decreased expression of neuropeptides in malignant paragangliomas: an immunohistochemical study. Hum Pathol 19:41–50
Linnoila RI, Keiser HR, Steinberg SM, Lack EE (1990) Histopathology of benign versus malignant sympathoadrenal paragangliomas: clinicopathologic study of 120 cases including unusual histologic features. Hum Pathol 21:1168–1180
Masters JRW, Camplejohn RS, Millis RR, Rubens RD (1987) Histological grade, elastosis, DNA ploidy, and the response to chemotherapy of breast cancer. Br J Cancer 55:455–457
Mey AGL van der, Cornelisse CJ, Hermans J, Terpstra JL, Schmidt PH, Fleuren GJ (1991) DNA flow cytometry of hereditary and sporadic paragangliomas (glomus tumours). Br J Cancer 63:298–302
Owainati AAR, Robins RA, Hinton C, Ellis IO, Dowle CS, Ferry B, Elston CW, Blarney RK, Baldwin RW (1987) Tumour aneuploidy, prognostic parameters and survival in primary breast cancer. Br J Cancer 55:449–454
Sauter ER, Hollier LH, Bolton JS, Ochsner JL, Sardi A (1991) Prognostic value of DNA flow cytometry in paragangliomas of the carotid body. J Surg Oncol 46:151–153
Smith P, Heath D (1982) Anatomical variation and quantitative histology of the normal and enlarged carotid body. J Pathol 137:287–304
Stuart-Harris R, Hedley DW, Taylor IW, Levene AL, Smith IE (1985) Tumour ploidy, response and survival in patients receiving endocrine therapy for advanced breast cancer. Br J Cancer 51:573–576
Warren WH, Lee I, Gould VE, Memoli VA, Jao W (1985) Paragangliomas of the head and neck: ultrastructural and immunohistochemical analysis. Ultrastruct Pathol 8:333–343
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
A preliminary report was given at the XIIth European Congress of Pathology, Porto, Portugal, 3–9 September 1989
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jovanovic, R., Hacker, G.W., Falkmer, U.G. et al. Paragangliomas: Neuroendocrine features and cytometric DNA distribution patterns. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 419, 455–461 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01650672
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01650672