Flow Cytometry

Flow Cytometry - A test performed on tumors to discover abnormalities in DNA and the relative rate at which a tumor is growing. Flow cytometry places cancerous cells (which have been stained with a light-sensitive dye) under a laser beam so that their DNA can be analyzed according to varying degrees of fluorescence (i.e., which parts of the cell absorb light). Flow cytometry can provide valuable insight into how aggressive a cancer is likely to be, and whether tumor cells contain a normal or abnormal amount of DNA.

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