AGNORS IN BENIGN, BORDERLINE AND TRANSITIONAL-CELL NEOPLASMS OF THE URINARY-BLADDER

Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were studied in 106 tissue samples from the urinary bladder (6 normal transitional epitlhe lium, 5 cystitis, 12 hyperplastic, 14 dysplastic lesions, 12 carcinoma in situ, 4 transitional cell carcinoma grade 0, 12 grade 1, 15 grade II and 12 grade III) to evaluate their role in differentiating benign, borderline and malignant lesions. The NOR counts presented a rising s cale from normal (2.21), inflammatory (3.93 for both cystitis and hype rplasia), dysplastic (4.16), carcinoma in situ (5.08) to malignant les ions (5.28 grade I, 6.59 grade II and 8.37 grade III). It was conclude d that AgNORs do not have a diagnostic role in these lesions, but that they can act as a reliable adjunct to existing parameters in the earl y detection of tumour recurrence and grading of malignant neoplasms.