CYTOMORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS DURING CANCERATION OF NASOPHARYNEAL EPITHELIUM

Cellular morphology was quantitatively analysed by using the point-counting technique In 76 specimens inciuding 18 normal nasopharyngeal epithelia, 16 simple hyperplasia and metaplasia, 18 dysplasia and 24 untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Altogether 19 morphometric parameters of the cell were measured and calculated. THe results showed that with malignant transformation of nasopharyngeal epithelium, the great majority of the cellular morphometric parameters gradually increased in numerical values while no marked difference was shown between normal nasopharyngeal epithelium and simple hyperplasia or metaplasia in terms of cytomorphometric characteristics. Most of the parameters in dysplasla changed significantly as compared with those in other three groups. Cytomorphometric analysis seems to give strong support to the concept that dysplasla is among the transition stages of disease process between normal nasopharyngeal epithelium and NPC. 19 parameters were processed with multivarite analysis an