Abstract
The distribution of PCNA in the epithelium adjacent to a tongue carcinoma was studied by investigating the correlation of proliferating-cell nucler antigen (PCNA) labeling index (LI) and the histological features.
Biopsied materials were obtained from 18 cases with a squamous-cell carcinoma in the tongue. The specimens were fixed in a 10 % formalin solution. The sections were immunohistochemically stained using an anti-PCNA antibody. PC 10 (DAKO, Denmark) . The positive cells for immunostaining were counted under a microscope and the PCNA LI was obtained.
The following results were obtained. The PCNA was immunohistochemically labelled with different positive rates in different cases and areas of the epithelium adjacent to the tongue carcinoma, the PCNA LI for immunostaining revealed a low value of m±SD=11.8±6.9 (%) in tongue epithelium of 7 cases, a relatively high value of m±SD=15.1±5.9 (%) in the hyperplastic epithelium, and a remarkably high value of m±SD=32.5±9.5 (%) in the dysplastic epithelium.
The present results indicate that the cells in the dysplastic epithelium possessd a high proliferative activity that may be closely associated with carcinogenesis.
