Retinoblastoma and cell cycle cytofluorometric analysis

L. Helson, F. Traganos, R. Ellsworth and D. Abramson

Flow cytofluorometric analysis of retinoblastoma tumor cells studied immediately after removal from patients and as cultured cell lines disclosed aneuploid cell populations in all samples. The percentage of cells in the different compartments of the cell cycle varied. The G0-G1 compartment contained from 62% to 83% of the cell population. From 16% to 38% of cells were in the S, G2, or M phase of the cell cycle, an observation that coincides with the apparent slow growth of the tumor in some of these patients.