[Amplification of oncogene c-erb-B1 and cellular DNA content in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck].

Tumoral DNA content was studied by flow cytometry and PCR amplification of c-erbB1 in tissue samples from 31 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Eighteen cases (58%) were aneuploid and 13 (42%) were diploid. Aneuploidy correlated with pharyngeal site and poorly differentiated tumors, but not with clinical stage or metastases. Six (19.3%) cases had c-erbB1 amplification, which correlated with tumor size, nodal metastasis, poor differentiation, and hypopharyngeal site. Only 20% of patients with amplification survived 30 months, compared with 64% of patients without amplification. None of the patients with aneuploidy and c-erbB1 amplification survived more than 15 months. To conclude, the measurement of cellular DNA content and c-erbB1 amplification seem to have prognostic value in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.