Relevance of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions[AgNORs] in improvement of the accuracy of routine urine cytology in bladder cancer

ABSTRACT

The argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions [AgNORs] were studied in urine specimens of 28 cases of bladder cancer and 29 non-malignant controls. Routine cytological examination and silver nitrate stain were used and the AgNORs were counted in 100 nuclei selected randomly in each specimen. While the routine cytology picked up 13 cases [46%], the AgNORs picked up 19 cases [66%]. The AgNORs count was 4.64 in positive cases, while it showed count below 2.1 in control. The AgNORs count was higher in cases than in control [in those negative specimens by routine cytology]. In conclusion, AgNORs which is a simple subjective method can improve the accuracy of routine cytology