Objective: To enhance the diagnostic accurate rate of preoperative biopsy on rectal carcinoma.
Methods: The paraffin embedded biopsy tissues of 17 cases of preoperatively unconfirmed rectal carcinoma and 15 cases of normal rectal mucosa (control group) were examined by routine pathology, image cytometry (ICM), and the expressions of protein products of oncogene p53 and ras.
Results: In the experimental group, 53% specimens were classified as non-diploid by ICM, and the positive rates of p53 and ras expressions were 71% and 47% respectively. The positive rates were higher than those of routine pathology and the differences were significant. In the control group, the results of ICM and oncogene expressions were negative. In the experimental group, there were 11 cases of atypical hyperplasia and 5 cases of chronic inflammation only. Non-diploid, and positive expressions of p53 and ras were found in 8, 11 and 7 cases of atypical hyperplasia respectively; however, they were all negative in chronic inflammation. The differences between atypical hyperplasia and chronic inflammation were significant. ICM was correlated well with expressions of p53 and ras oncogene.
Conclusions: The techniques of ICM and detecting the expressions of protein products of oncogene p53 and ras can be a supplementary tool for routine pathology to improve the diagnostic rate of rectal carcinoma.