Flow cytometric DNA analysis of pediatric intracranial ependymomas

. Objective.-To examine the clinicopathologic features and perform flow cytometric DNA analysis of pediatric intracranial ependymomas to determine whether any of these parameters were predictors of clinical outcome. Methods.-Flow cytometric DNA analysis was performed on 17 paraffin-embedded tumors from patients aged 7 months to 16 years. Results.-Seven cases were aneuploid, while the remaining 10 were diploid. Proliferative fractions varied from 1% to 17%. Conclusions.-No correlation between histologic features such as mitotic activity, cellularity, pleomorphism, vascular proliferation, and length of survival was observed. However, the presence of a diploid DNA stemline, elevated proliferative fraction, or young age were associated with a poor clinical outcome and shortened survival times (P < 0.05). Additional studies of larger patient groups with extended follow-up are necessary to confirm these findings.