Diagnostic and prognostic value of nucleolar organizer regions in squamous-cell carcinomas of the maxillary sinus.

Abstract

The clinicopathological implications of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) were assessed in 25 squamous-cell carcinomas arising in the maxillary sinuses. NORs in the carcinoma tissue were stained with silver colloid and counted. As the histological differentiation of the tumors decreased, the mean AgNOR number rose significantly. The mean AgNOR number in T4 cancers was higher than that in T2 and T3 cancers, and the difference between T3 and T4 categories was significant. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the AgNOR number between tumors of patients with and without recurrence after therapy, between those with different clinical stages or between those with good or poor response to treatment. Moreover, there was no significant difference in survival rates between patients with low and high AgNOR counts. These studies indicate that, in the collective examined, the AgNOR staining method was of no prognostic value for patients with squamous-cell carcinomas of the maxillary sinus.