Am. Rich et Pc. Reade, NUCLEAR MORPHOMETRY IN EXPERIMENTAL ORAL MUCOSAL CARCINOGENESIS, European journal of cancer. Part B, Oral oncology, 32(3), 1996, pp. 169-175
The area, perimeter and diameter of basal cell nuclei of rat palatal e
pithelium were measured and the deviation of the basal cell nuclear pr
ofile from the form of a sphere was assessed after the application of
the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO). After a 24-week treatm
ent-free period, designed to eliminate the irritant effect of the carc
inogen, the rats were killed, the palatal mucosa was recovered and pro
cessed and the nuclear histometry was assessed with image analysis tec
hniques. The basal cell nuclear area increased as the epithelium becam
e dysplastic and then decreased as carcinoma developed, but there were
significant variations in this parameter in the control groups. Basal
cell nuclei from moderately or severely dysplastic epithelium, and fr
om epithelium adjacent to areas of invasive carcinoma, were significan
tly less regular in profile by comparison with control nuclei. Variati
ons in nuclear profile, but not nuclear area, perimeter or diameter, m
ight reflect fundamental nuclear alterations of significance during th
e process of carcinogenesis. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd