AgNORs count correlates better than grading with the effect of chemotherapy in serous ovarian cancer

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the relationship between AgNORs count as well as tumor grade and the effect of chemotherapy in serous ovarian cancer.

Material and methods: 39 women who underwent surgical procedure and then chemotherapy due to serous ovarian cancer were included into the study. In cancer cells the mean number of AgNORs per nucleus (mAgNOR) and the mean percentage of nuclei with five or more AgNORs (pAgNOR) were counted.

Results: in 13 women (33.3%) we did not found the neoplastic disease in second-look laparotomy (group I), and in 26 patients (66.7%) the cancer was present (group II). The mean grading and the mAgNOR of ovarian cancer in the first operation in group I and in group II were similar. The mean pAgNOR in group I was higher than in group II. The values of mAgNOR and pAgNOR but not grading in women with the absence of cancer in second-look laparotomy and in women with the only single neoplastic focuses were similar one to another, and both were higher than in cases of disseminated neoplastic disease.

Conclusions: the quantitative assessment of AgNORs is better prognostic factor when compared to grading for the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy in serous ovarian cancer.