NUCLEOLAR ORGANIZER REGIONS AS PREDICTORS OF OUTCOME IN PROSTATIC-CARCINOMA

In a study of 45 patients with prostatic carcinoma and 10 with benign hyperplasia, nucleolar organiser regions (NORs) were counted to test the hypothesis that these loops of DNA, which transcribe to ribosomal RNA, have prognostic significance. The results showed significantly higher NOR scores in patients with cancer than in those with benign hyperplasia (p<0.05), with the highest scores being recorded in those destined to develop metastases at a later date. We conclude that this technique may have prognostic significance and warrants further prospective investigation. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.