Interphase AgNOR quantity and DNA content in endometrial adenocarcinoma

The relationship between the amount of silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) and the DNA content of interphase neoplastic cells in 63 cases of human endometrial adenocarcinoma was studied. Interphase AgNOR content was determined as the mean AgNOR area per nucleus by image cytometry in silver-stained samples from paraffin-embedded sections. DNA content was evaluated by cytofluorometry on single cells from the same specimen and expressed in c units as DNA ploidy. The mean AgNOR area ranged from 1.26 to 4.48 microns2 and the modal DNA ploidy from 1.90 to 4.00c. No significant associations were found between mean AgNOR area and modal DNA ploidy when analyzed either by linear regression (beta = 0.18; P = 0.15) or as dichotomized variables by chi 2 analysis (chi 2 = 0.82; P = 0.37). On a homogeneous subset of 45 cases of stage I adenocarcinomas we also evaluated the prognostic relevance of AgNOR content and DNA ploidy. In monovariate analysis both parameters were significantly related to patient survival. When the mean AgNOR area and the modal DNA ploidy were entered into regression analysis together with the depth of myometrial invasion and histological grading, they showed an independent, high prognostic value.