Analysis of the karyotype and desoxyribonucleic acid content of uterine myomas in premenopausal, menopausal, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist-treated females

Objective: To correlate the cytogenetics and the DNA content in uterine myomas. Design: Prospective study in treated and untreated females. Setting: Tertiary University Center. Patients: Premenopausal, menopausal, and GnRH-agonist (GnRH-a)-treated patients, Intervention: Myomectomy or hysterectomy. Main Outcome Measure: Karyotype analysis and the DNA content measured by microfluorescence technique and expressed in fluorescence units. Results: The mean DNA content in cells from karyotypically normal and karyotypically abnormal myomas, respectively, was 37.4 +/- 6.9 and 30.4 +/- 1.8 fluorescence units in premenopausal females, 30.3 +/- 5.3 and 28.7 +/- 0.9 fluorescence units in menopausal females, and 31.6 +/- 2.7 and 32.9 +/- 5.8 fluorescence units in GnRH-a-treated females. Conclusions: Forty per cent of the myomas evaluated demonstrated an abnormal karyotype and had a significantly lower DNA content than the chromosomally normal myomas. After GnRH-agonist treatment, the DNA content was decreased in the euploid myoma group only.