AgNORs in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

The numbers of nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) per cell has been considered as an indicator of the cellular proliferative activity. A study is carried out to examine whether AgNOR numbers relate to the growth rate in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Method: AgNORs were stained by a one step silver method and examined in representative paraffin sections from 50 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Results: the mean AgNOR numbers per cell in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were higher than those in normal oral mucosal epithelium. Conclusion: The AgNOR numbers were related to the growth rate of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck, Thus the AgNOR count could be used as a useful marker for investigating the cellular proliferative activity.