title: Preliminary assessment of the epithelial nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio and nuclear volume density in human palatal lesions.
abstract: We have analysed both the nuclear-cytoplasmic (N/C) ratio and nuclear volume densities (VVN) in defined strata from human hard palate lesions with and without malignant potential to determine the prognostic reliability and/or validity of this parameter. Measurements of cellular and nuclear areas of basal and spinous cells from normal (N) and pathological palatal epithelium were made on histological sections using an image analyser. The lesions comprised fibrous hyperplasia (FH), traumatic inflammation (INF), benign hyperkeratosis (HK), squamous cell papilloma (PP), dysplastic epithelium adjacent to invasive carcinoma (CE) and islands of invasive squamous cell carcinoma (CI). In basal cells, no significant differences were detected in comparisons of N/C and VVN between all pathological groups and the N control group. The mean value for CE was lower than that obtained for N. In spinous cells, the only statistically significant comparison was between IF and FH for both N/C and VVN. Both parameters were lower in CE than in N. Of all groups analysed except CI, the CE group is the only one likely to possess an increased malignant potential. The N/C ratio therefore seems to be of no value as a predictor of malignancy in palatal epithelial lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Qin Du Stomatological Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000473:pathology; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D010159:Palate / Q000473:pathology*; D010212:Papilloma / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000473:pathology