DNA flow cytometry in the prediction of survival and response to radiotherapy in head and neck cancer. A review.

Flow cytometric determination of DNA ploidy, the DNA index, and the percentage of cells in the S-phase fraction of the cell cycle have recently emerged as prognostic factors in several human cancers. In most human carcinomas DNA aneuploidy appears to be associated with unfavorable prognosis as compared with diploid or near diploid carcinomas, but this remains to be confirmed in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. There is some evidence that DNA aneuploid carcinomas are more easily destroyed by irradiation than diploid carcinomas. The possibility of rapidly evaluating cell kinetic parameters from flow cytometric analyses with novel techniques, such as the detection of incorporated bromodeoxyuridine with a monoclonal antibody, may eventually find clinical use in the planning of radiotherapy.