Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region counts and proliferating cell nuclear antigen scores are two reliable indicators of survival in pharyngeal carcinoma.
The proliferative activity of pharyngeal carcinoma has been investigated by means of monoclonal antibody PC10 against proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA/cyclin) and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) analysis in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsies from 45 primary squamous and undifferentiated carcinomas, prior to therapy. The correlation between AgNOR counts and PCNA(PC10) scores was highly significant (r = 0.73; P < 0.0001) as determined by Pearson's correlation coefficient. Moreover, the univariate Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significant correlation between 3- and 5-year survival rates and the mean AgNOR number per tumour cell (P = 0.0003) or the percentage of PCNA(PC10)-positive cells (P = 0.0001). Our results indicate that both AgNOR counts and PCNA(PC10) scores are reliable markers of the proliferative activity of pharyngeal carcinoma in small, routinely processed biopsies, in which they can allow simultaneous evaluation of the histology and tumour cell kinetics.
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Turin, Italy.
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A
Pich
L
L
Chiusa
P
P
Pisani
M
M
Krengli
F
F
Pia
R
R
Navone
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D015996:Survival Rate
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen