engleski

Image-analysis of AgNORs in prostatic smears

The count of AgNORs in glandular prostatic cells has been demonstrated in several studies, predominantly on histological sections, to correlate with the grade of pathological lesions. An image-analysis of various AgNOR parameters was done on cytological smears of prostate to get more objective criteria for evaluation of this cell-proliferation rate`s marker. Method: Smears with prostatic cells, obtained by fine-needle aspiration or by touch preparation of prostatic ressections were stained by standard AgNOR technique. Nuclear and AgNOR measurements were made with an automated image-analyzer. Results: AgNORs appeared in nuclei as single dots or as clusters. Therefore, we could not count single AgNORs together with clusters. The most objective way to estimate the quantity of AgNORs seemed to be measurement of their areas. In each smear, randomly selected 100 nuclei were image-analyzed on several nuclear- and AgNOR-parameters. The sum of AgNOR areas as well as the quotient of AgNORs` area and nuclear area showed a good correlation with the grade of pathological lesion, being greatest in low-differentiated cancer. Discussion: In search for a new, more specific and more sensitive prognostic marker, the prostatic AgNOR is now investigated. There is some evidence that the quantity of AgNORs correlates to the grade of the tumor`s differentiation and it seems that in cytological smears it should be estimated in a different way than on histhological sections. We have tried to find an objective way for AgNOR analysis in cytological smears.

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