[Clinical significance of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) and microvessel quantitation by staining for factor VIII-related antigen as prognostic indicators in stage I breast cancer].

The clinical significance of AgNOR and microvessel quantitation as prognostic indicators in Stage I breast cancer were examined. This study included 99 patients with Stage I breast cancer, with a median follow-up period of 119 months. AgNOR was stained by Crocker's method and microvessels were identified by immunohistochemical staining for Factor VIII-related antigen in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tumors. AgNOR score related with tumor size. Microvessel count was related to estrogen receptor status. When patients were classified into two groups by the mean AgNOR score, higher scores had a tendency to be correlated with shorter overall survival. And when classified by microvessel count, higher counts were significantly associated with shorter overall, survival (p < 0.01). The microvessel count might be a useful predictor and the AgNOR score could be used to corroborate predictions for identifying patients at high risk for relapse and death in Stage I breast cancer.