The significance of the nucleolus organizer region antigen for the differentiation of laryngeal dysplasias and laryngeal carcinoma

: The grading of laryngeal dysplasia is routinely based on the assessment of histological and karyologic properties and therefore may suffer from subjective errors. Because of the prognostic relevance of grading, various attempts have been made to overcome subjective misinterpretation of quantitative and objective data. Analysis of nucleolar organizer region-associated acid proteins (AgNORs) provides the opportunity for an objective assessment of the proliferative activity of cell populations. Using an image analysis system, AgNOR features of normal, dysplastic and neoplastic squamous epithelium of the larynx were investigated. With this method reproducible data were available for number, area and distribution of AgNORs and certain relative features. The relationship between AgNOR configuration and histopathological grading of laryngeal dysplasia and carcinoma was investigated. Significant differences were found between the groups investigated. A classification of slight, moderate and severe dysplasia based exclusively on AgNOR data was not of satisfactory quality.