Polymorphism of Ag-stained nucleolus organizer regions in lymphocytes of patients with ovarian or breast adenocarcinoma

Summary

The Ag-stainability of nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) in the acrocentric chromosomes identified by Q-banding was studied in 45 female patients with adenocarcinoma of the ovary or breast and in 45 healthy females. Significantly higher frequencies of Ag(+)NORs per individual (8.8 and 8.3; P<0.05), in the G group chromosomes (3.6 and 3.2; P<0.05), and in chromosome 21 (1.9 and 1.7; P<0.02) were found in patients, compared with controls. Despite the lack of significant differences in NORs between the groups of patients with ovarian and breast adenocarcinoma, the main difference between the patients and controls was due to the patients with adenocarcinoma of the ovary, where a significantly higher frequency of Ag(+)NORs was found in chromosomes 21 (P<0.01) and 13 (P<0.05).