T. Ohta et al., EXPRESSION OF ARGYROPHILIC NUCLEOLAR ORGANIZER REGIONS IN DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE PANCREAS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PROGNOSIS, International journal of pancreatology, 13(3), 1993, pp. 193-200
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship betwe
en Ag-NOR count levels and survival in 33 patients undergoing resectio
n for ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas at Kanazawa University Hos
pital from 1985 to 1991. To determine the biologic behavior of invasiv
e ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, 33 tumors were classified int
o two groups according to the median value of Ag-NOR counts: Group 1,
Ag-NOR count greater-than-or-equal-to 3.25 (higher Ag-NOR count group)
; Group 2, Ag-NOR count < 3.25 (lower Ag-NOR count group). As a result
, we found that tumors with a higher Ag-NOR count were more likely to
have liver or peritoneal metastasis than those with a lower Ag-NOR cou
nt, although the differences were not statistically significant. Tumor
s with lower Ag-NOR count levels were associated with favorable progno
ses 2 and 3 yr after surgery, whereas those with higher Ag-NOR count l
evels were related to poor prognosis. Our results indicate that a Ag-N
OR count level is a reliable prognostic parameter in resected pancreat
ic ductal adenocarcinoma.