Quantitative nuclear-cytoplasmic ratios in human hepatomas.

This report presents quantitative data on nuclear-cytoplasmic (N/C) ratios of human hepatomas, normal liver specimens, and cirrhotic liver specimens. The N/C ratios were determined by point-counting, using an intraocular microscopic grid as the source of the points. The N/C ratios of hepatoma cells were chiefly greater than 0.21, while those of normal and cirrhotic liver cells were chiefly less than 0.21. The N/C ratios of hepatoma cells had a variance significantly greater than those of normal and cirrhotic cells. Quantitative N/C ratios can yield information useful in characterizing cell types for diagnostic purposes.