Abstract
Nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) are loops of DNA that transcribe to ribosomal RNA. AgNORs are argyrophilic intra-nuclear dots stained by a silver staining technique for NORs associated non-histone protein. The amount of AgNORs was investigated with reference to histological factors, which may indicate cell proliferation, in 40 cases of gastric cancer. We investigated the value of BrdU L.I. (Bromodeoxyuridine labeling index) and DNA ploidy pattern in the same cases. Significant differences were found in the numbers of AgNORs and BrdU L.I. among the histological types (well, mod<por<muc), INF (INF α<β<r), stroma (middle type<scirrhous type) and “growth pattern” (superficial type<middle type<pen type) . There was also significant difference between the depths of invasion (ps (-) <ps (+) ) . However, there was no significant difference in DNA ploidy patterns among these histological factors. These results indicate the value of determining the number of AgNORs and BrdU L.I. relative to cell proliferation in gastric cancer, and that the AgNORs score may give a more accurate estimation of the biological character in gastric cancer, similar to BrdU L.I.
