Study on cell proliferation in nasal polyposis as predictive index of recurrence

: The purpose of the present research has been to identify a cellular parameter to be used as an index of increased cell proliferation and, therefore, the likelihood of recurrence. A total of 114 patients with bilateral nasal polyposis underwent naso-ethmoid dissection under endoscopy. Of these, 36 were affected by allergic rhinopathy, 6 bronchial asthma, 9 ASA syndrome and 9 diabetes mellitus; in addition 33 cases were classified as recurrences. The polyp material from each patient was analyzed using a Coulter XL cytofluorimeter, evaluating the cycles of approximately 10-20 thousand cells. The objective was to identify the nasal polyp activity status in the various patients, evaluating cell proliferation indicated by the percentage of cells in phase S and G2 + M. Of the 114 patients, 21 were ruled out of the study because of a high degree of cell debris. Cytofluorimetry made it possible to identify 3 groups based on the different percentage of cells in the genomic synthesis phase. In the first group (A) of 42 patients, the number of cells in the active phase ranged from 2.1% to 10%. The second group (B) of 21 patients showed a percentage in the 14.7-41.9% range. The third group (C) of 30 patients--all affected by recurrent polyps--showed a high percentage (25%-49.8%) of cells in the active phase. It is interesting to note that: 1. A full 91% of the allergic patients fell within group A. 2. Of the 9 patients with ASA, 7 were in the group with recurrences. 3. The 30 patients affected by recurrent polyps were all in group C and that of these 12 had more than one recurrence, expressing a higher percentage of active cells. The above appears to indicate that the cell parameter evaluated here cytofluorimetrically may be a new, simple, reliable index to predict nasal polyps recurrences.