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The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of flow cytometric (FCM) DNA content and cell cycle characteristics of Barrett's Esophagus (BE) with age and sex of the patients, length, histologic type and dysplasia of BE. Forty-one patients affected by histologically confirmed BE had multiple biopsies taken from the metaplastic epithelium and one biopsy taken from the gastric fundus, as control. The samples were either stored at -80 degrees C or immediately measured. Nuclei suspensions were obtained, stained with DAPI, measured with a high resolution flow cytometer (ICP22A, Ortho Instruments) and analyzed for the evaluation of the relative DNA content and the S- and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle. DNA histograms having two distinct G0/G1 peaks were classified as DNA aneuploid. The degree of DNA aneuploidy (DNA Index, DI), defined as the ratio of abnormal to normal DNA content, was obtained from the mixture of each BE sample with its control sample and trout erythrocytes. We found six patients with DNA aneuploid populations (14.6%), whose DNA Index values were 1.05 (in two), 1.8 (in one), and 2.0 (in three cases). DNA ploidy did not correlate with age and sex of the patients, length, histologic type, and dysplasia of BE. Among the 13 patients with dysplasia (6 indefinite, 4 low grade and 2 high grade with intramucous adenocarcinoma) only two (one indefinite and one low grade) showed DNA aneuploidy (15.4%). In addition, we found that the S-phase and the G2 + M-phase fractions in BE samples were both significantly higher than those of the controls (respectively, p = 0.01 and p = 0.0008).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Six-hundred-and-ninety-four patients with localized gastric lesions (ulcers, polyps, enlarged or irregular folds, erosions and tumors) underwent endoscopic examination and multiple biopsies. Twenty-nine proved to have severe or moderate gastric epithelial dysplasia. Another group of 123 patients were submitted to endoscopic examination and multiple biopsies, but showed no evidence of localized gastric lesions. Only one case of mild dysplasia was observed in this group. Of the 29 patients with dysplasia, 8 (27.5 %) had a carcinoma in the surgical specimen. The endoscopic follow-up carried out in non-operated patients with dysplasia did not show any development of malignancy. This study shows dysplastic changes significantly associated with prominent or depressed lesions of the gastric mucosa at endoscopy. In operated patients a synchronous carcinoma is often detected in the surgical specimen.