Argyrophilic Nucleolar Organizer Regions (AgNORs) as a Proliferative marker in various prostatic lesions

Aims and objectives: 1. To establish the role of AgNOR in differentiating the benign from the premalignant and the malignant lesions of the prostate. 2. To establish the significance of AgNOR count in differentiating the grades of malignancy. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted on 197 prostatic lesions from 20112013. Two sections from each case were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and the other with AgNOR stain. The data was analysed by using SPSS-17.0. Results: The mean AgNOR count of prostatic adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than the benign and premalignant lesions of prostate with P<0.001. The mean AgNOR count in benign lesions is1.6 +/0.2 and the AgNOR dots tend to be large, regular and homogenously stained. The mean AgNOR count in malignant lesions was between 4.7 +/0.1 – 5.7+/0.9 and the dot appear large, irregular in size and shape with gaint and bizarre clusters. Conclusion: AgNOR staining can be considered as a useful adjunct to diagnostic pathology. The study was helpful in evaluating the importance of AgNORs in differentiating the benign, premalignant and malignant lesions of prostate can be considered as a valuable tool in analysing the proliferative activity of the cell.