Morphometric evaluation of NB84, synaptophysin and AgNOR is useful for the histological diagnosis and prognosis in peripheral neuroblastic tumors (pNTs).
OBJECTIVE
To study the importance of NB84, synaptophysin and AgNOR and explore the quantitative association of these factors with diagnosis and outcome as well as the association between NB84 and AgNOR and other tumor and stromal factors in twenty-eight peripheral neuroblastic tumors.


METHODS
We assessed AgNORs, NB84, synaptophysin and several other markers in tumor tissues from 28 patients with primary neuroblastic tumors. The treatment included: surgery for stage 1, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation for most of stages 3 and 4. Histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and morphometry were used to evaluate the amount of tumor staining for AgNOR, NB84 and synaptophysin; the outcome for our study was survival time until death due to recurrent neuroblastic tumors.


RESULTS
Only stage (p<0.01), AgNOR (p<0.01), NB84 (p<0.01) and synaptophysin (p=0.01) reached statistical significance as prognostic indicators.


CONCLUSIONS
Determination of NB84 and synaptophysin are useful tools for the diagnosis of peripheral neuroblastic tumors The association of the evaluation of AgNOR expression by the tumor cells may provide an important contribution to the prognostic evaluation and management approach of the patients.
Carvalho
Aparecida de Cássia
Ade C
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Parra
Edwin Roger
ER
Zerbini
Maria Cláudia
MC
Alves
Venâncio Avancini Ferreira
VA
Capelozzi
Vera Luiza
VL
Antonangelo
Leila
L
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016708:Synaptophysin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D016708:Synaptophysin; C051963:nucleolar organizer region associated proteins