K. Sujathan et al., SIGNIFICANCE OF AGNOR COUNT IN DIFFERENTIATING MALIGNANT-CELLS FROM REACTIVE MESOTHELIAL CELLS IN SEROUS EFFUSIONS, Acta cytologica, 40(4), 1996, pp. 724-728
OBJECTIVE: To distinguish reactive mesothelial cells from malignant ce
lls in serous effusions using silver staining of nucleolar organizer r
egions (AgNOR) applied to ethanol-fixed cytologic preparations. STUDY
DESIGN: One hundred aspirated samples of benign and malignant effusion
s were studied using the one-step silver staining method. Eight cytolo
gically atypical samples were also included in the study. RESULTS: In
malignant cells the mean AgNOR count was 4.72 +/- 0.76 (+/- SD), and t
he AgNORs were irregular in shape, while in benign mesothelial cells A
gNORs were comparatively larger, single dots with a mean count of 1.92
+/- 0.23. Of the cytologically atypical samples, five were in the mal
ignant range. The others were within benign limits. Repeat cytology of
the second aspirate confirmed that finding. CONCLUSION: AgNOR study a
ppears to be clinically useful as an additional diagnostic tool for us
e in ascitic and pleural fluid samples when the cytologic diagnosis is
difficult.