DNA and RNA flow cytometry in multiple myeloma: clinical correlations.

Flow cytometric studies of cellular DNA and RNA content using the acridine-orange technique were conducted in 81 patients with multiple myeloma (MM). All patients were treated with the M-2 protocol and clinical response was evaluated according to the criteria of the Chronic Leukemia-Myeloma Task Force. Aneuploid DNA stemlines were found in 38.2% of untreated patients with a median DNA index (DNA-I) of 1.15 in marrow aspirates and 1.22 in biopsy specimens. The median percentage of cells with abnormal DNA content was 31.5 (aspirates) and 35 (biopsy specimens) and a positive correlation with the percentage of bone marrow plasma cells was observed. Significantly higher proliferation (S-phase) was found in marrow biopsy specimens as compared with marrow aspirates. Significantly higher RNA content (RNA index [RNA-I]) was observed in aneuploid versus diploid patients in biopsy material. There was no difference in response to the Memorial Hospital M-2 protocol between diploid and aneuploid patients. In patients with DNA-I greater than 1.15 remission duration was shorter as compared with DNA-I less than or equal to 1.15. Furthermore, no difference in cellular RNA content was noted between responders and nonresponders. This study demonstrates no correlation between cellular RNA content and response, as previously described for patients treated with vincristine, Adriamycin, and dexamethasone (VAD), but DNA aneuploidy appears to be an adverse prognostic factor in MM patients treated with the M-2 protocol. It also demonstrates that prognostic models for MM are not universal but depend on the chemotherapeutic regimen used.