A correlation of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions with prognoses in patients with maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma.

Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were determined by a semiautomatic image analyzer in a group of 28 patients with T2 or T3 maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma. The group was separated into recurrent and non-recurrent groups, metastatic and non-metastatic groups, as well as groups strongly or weakly positive for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The mean number and area of AgNOR dots per nucleus and the mean size of each dot were calculated. The mean number and area were significantly greater than those in normal cells (P < 0.001), but not in recurrent and non-recurrent groups, metastatic and non-metastatic groups and groups separated by EGFR. There was also no difference found in the mean sizes of tumor and normal cells. These results suggest that AgNOR is related to malignant transformation, but not prognosis.