Evaluation of AgNOR scores in aspiration cytology smears of breast tumors

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the difference in the silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) scores on aspiration smears from benign and malignant breast tumors, and to determine the feasibility of AgNOR staining as part of the cytological investigation of breast tumors. Settings: AgNOR scores were evaluated on aspiration smears and tissue sections from 42 breast tumor cases. Materials and Methods: Smears from 27 breast tumor cases and tissue sections from 15 surgically resected specimens were examined. Counting was performed on a small number of tumor cells (50 cells). Both the mean (mAgNOR) score and the AgNOR proliferative index (pAgNOR index) were assessed for each specimen. Statistical Analysis: Statistical evaluation was carried out using the Students t-test. The result was considered significant when P < 0.05. Results and Conclusions: The mAgNOR score and pAgNOR index were significantly higher in smears from malignant tumors than in those from benign tumors (P = 0.01). These results were similar to those obtained for tissue sections and were comparable to established data. The determination of AgNOR scores on cell smears in a limited cell population has practical advantages.