Background: Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) represent a tissue marker of cell proliferative activity. The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic value of AgNORs expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Methods: The AgNORs area/nucleus was studied in paraffin sections by means of digital image analysis in 43 cases of stage II oral tongue and floor of the mouth SCC.
Results: Time free of disease was considered a dependent variable of a binary indicator of AgNORs expression (7.77 microns2/nucleus as a cut-off point). High AgNORs level was associated with a statistically significant negative effect on recurrence-free interval of disease in a Cox proportional hazards models controlled for occult lymph node metastasis, involvement of the surgical margins, thickness of the lesion, and vascular invasion.
Conclusions: The AgNORs area increased the capability of predicting which patients have a high risk of recurrence of cancer, and its evaluation may provide useful information for the therapeutic approach to the oral tongue and floor of the mouth SCC.