Ahtesham K, Jaffer R, Imran A A, Salaria S M, Haseeb M T.
Proliferation Markers, -AgNORs, Correlation With Grade Of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Of Breast.
Biomedica Jan ;33(2):120-3.

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and a leading cause of death in women. The objectives of this study were to compare the argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) parameters and estrogen receptor status with grades of invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. Methods: 50 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma of breast diagnosed on trucut, core biopsy/ incision/ excision was collected from Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. Hematoxylin and eosin, AgNOR and estrogen staining was done. AgNOR parameters and ER status were compared with grades of invasive ductal carcinoma. Results: The mean age of the patients was 46.84 years ± 11.8 SD. A significantly greater proportion (p < 0.01) of grade III tumors showed a variation in AgNOR size of 3+ when compared with grade II tumors. AgNOR dispersion was predominantly of 3+ in grade II tumors, whereas all the grade III tumors had 3+ AgNOR dispersion. However, the difference was not statistically significant. All estrogen receptor positive tumors were of low grade as compared to ER -ve, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: It is concluded that AgNOR size, dispersion and ER status correlate well with Bloom and Richardson grade of invasive ductal carcinoma of breast.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com