Comparison of DNA Content Parameters in Paired, Fresh Tissue Pretreatment Biopsies and Surgical Resections from Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

OBJECTIVE: Cellular DNA characteristics derived from pretreatment biopsy (PTB) may become important for predicting treatment outcomes in patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). Whether the PTB adequately represents the whole specimen is of critical importance. STUDY DESIGN: In a series of >700 HNSCCs, we identified 59 cases in which the PTB and the surgical resection (SR) met the following criteria: PTB and SR were from the same site, and SR was obtained within 5 weeks of PTB with no intervening treatments. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of the PTB specimens were DNA diploid. Only 1 of the 11 subsequent DNA diploid SR was associated with a DNA aneuploid PTB (91% concordance). Of the 48 DNA aneuploid tumors, 3 were associated with DNA diploid PTB (94% concordance). Three other DNA aneuploid SRs were associated with PTB of poor quality. CONCLUSION: With respect to DNA ploidy, PTB are representative of SR specimens.