[Immunohistochemical study of the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in astrocytic gliomas of the cerebral hemispheres].

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was studied in 136 biopsies of brain astrocytic gliomas (AG) subdivided according to the degree of their malignancy into 3 groups: astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas. There were statistically significant differences in labelling index (LI) between these groups: 5.2, 34.1 and 49.5%, respectively. Mean LI of PCNA in the anaplastic astrocytomas was 6.5 times higher than in benign astrocytomas. Expression of PCNA in the tumor endotheliocytes was observed in 11 of 24 histologically benign astrocytomas and LI in these tumors was considerably higher than in the astrocytomas without endothelial expression. This indicates that proliferative processes in the tumor cells of AG and in the endotheliocytes of tumor vessels are interconnected.