1994 Volume 40 Issue 12 Pages 1248-1257
Argyrophil (AgNORs) method is a diagnostic technique for histologically grading tumor malignancy. Adenoid cystic carcinomas (n=10) classified histologically into 3 patterns [tubular (n=4), cribriform (n=6) and solid (n=3)] and pleomorphic adenomas (n=16) classified into non-recurrent (n=10) and recurrent (n=6) tumors were examined for AgNORs. Pleomorphic adenomas were histologically classified into 3 types, double layer (n=8), glandular (n=11) and non-glandular (n=7), and AgNORs in these 3 types of pleomorphic adenomas were compared with those in adenoid cystic carcinomas. The mean number of AgNORs was defined as the AgNOR number. AgNOR numbers were compared by the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney two-sided test, and differences associated with p<0.05 were considered to be significant.
Mean±S. D. of AgNOR was significantly higher (p<0.001) in adenoid cystic carcinomas compared with pleomorphic adenomas. Comparison of AgNOR numbers in different histological types of adenoid cystic carcinomas revealed significantly higher values (p<0.05) for solid pattern tumors than for tubular and cribriform pattern tumors. No significant difference was noted between tubular and cribriform patterns. It is suggested that the AgNOR numbers in adenoid cystic carcinomas may be used to evaluate the biological grading of malignancy. There were no significant differences in the AgNOR numbers between recurrent and non-recurrent tumors in pleomorphic adenomas, or between several histological types of pleomorphic adenomas.
