Polyploidization and centrosome hyperamplification in inflammatory bronchi.

Objective and design: Inflammatory and tumorous bronchi were screened in order to obtain new tumor relevant cytogenetic parameters. Material or subjects: Bronchial cells of 32 patients were cultivated by standard cell culture procedures. Methods: Tetraploidy and aneuploidy was determined by enumeration of chromosome 7 and 8 versus the number of centrosomes. The resulting data were correlated with histopathological data. Results: Tetra- and aneuploidy of epithelial cells were detectable in 76 % of tumor cell cultures, 75 % of high grade inflammatory tissues and 40 % of non- and low grade-inflammatory tissues. Additionally, we observed centrosome hyperamplification and multipolar mitoses not only in the tumor but also in the early stages of inflammation. Conclusion: Inflammatory bronchi already show tumor-specific features and may consequently represent the preliminary genetic stage of cancer development in bronchi.