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[Study on diagnostic value of analyzing argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in benign and malignant pleural
1Department of Respiratory Disease, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou 510120.
Objective:
To evaluate the diagnostic value of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) measurement in benign and malignant pleural effusions.
Methods:
Pleural effusions from 50 patients with proven malignant disease, 30 patients with benign disease were studied using the one-step silver staining method. Six cytologically atypical samples were also included in this study.
Results:
The mean AgNOR count in malignant cells was significantly higher than that in benign mesothelial cells (7.6 +/- 1.4 vs 2.3 +/- 0.7, P < 0.01). The morphological features of AgNOR in malignant cells were mainly of diffuse type (80%), while in benign mesothelial cells, mainly of nucleolar type (90%). Among the six cytologically atypical samples, four were in the malignant range, two were in the benign limits, and these were proved by histopathology.
Conclusion:
AgNOR study may be useful in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusions.