Significance of Nucleolar Organizer Regions in Prostate Adenocarcinomas

Abstract

The aim of this study was to define the relation between silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) count and histological grade, and clinical stage in needle biopsy specimens of 65 prostatic adenocarcinomas. Histological grade was determined according to the modified Gleason system. AgNORs were evaluated by the counting method on routine histological sections stained with silver. There was a significant increase in AgNOR count in high versus low-grade prostate carcinomas. AgNORs increased significantly with the clinical stage. The mean AgNOR count was significantly higher in lymph node metastases than in primary tumors. These data demonstrate that AgNOR counts reflect the proliferative activity of prostate adenocarcinomas and could be useful as a prognostic factor in prostatic needle biopsy specimens.