Proliferation assessment in breast cancer: a double-staining technique forAgNOR quantification in MIB-1 positive cells especially adapted for image cytometry
M. Lorenzato et al., Proliferation assessment in breast cancer: a double-staining technique forAgNOR quantification in MIB-1 positive cells especially adapted for image cytometry, MICRON, 31(2), 2000, pp. 151-159
There are two ways of measuring the cell proliferation. The first one consi
sts of quantifying the number of cycling cells with the help of antibodies
directed against cells either in G1, S, G2 or M phase. The second way is to
assess the cell cycle duration by the quantification of AgNOR proteins. Me
asuring both the features on the same slide represents an attractive way to
tackle the proliferating activity of a cell culture or a tumor. Here, we p
ropose a MIB-1 and AgNOR double staining method especially adapted to image
cytometry measurement, using MIB-1 antibody coupled to FITC in order to av
oid the thresholding problems encountered with such a multilabeling techniq
ue. We have applied this new method on a series of 39 boast cancer cases, w
ith at least 4 years follow-up, in order to determine the prognosis signifi
cance of this measurement. MIB-1 alone is not linked to prognosis, while th
e global mean AgNOR area is significantly linked to prognosis in terms of d
evelopment of visceral metastasis or death. However, the global mean AgNOR
area is insufficient to determine the time limit of appearance of metastasi
s or relapse. Our results clearly demonstrate that a high mean AgNOR area w
ithin a cell population having a high MIB-1 index can discern tumors with a
high metastatic potential. By multiplying AgNOR area by the percentage of
MIB-1 positive cells we calculate the proliferative activity, P, which brin
gs very important information concerning the time limit of relapse. (C) 199
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