Clinical and Histologic Features Compared with AgNOR Count in Oral Leukoplakia, Erosive Lichen Planus, Oral Submucous Fibrosis and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) are loops of DNA containing ribosomal RNA genes. In human, they are located on the short arm of the five acrocentric of certain chromosomes. An increase in number of AgNORs counts have been documented in some malignancies compared to their benign counter parts. The aim of the study was to correlate and compare AgNOR count in speckled leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, oral submucous fibrosis and in oral squamous cell carcinoma and to assess if AgNOR count could contribute to the pre-therapeutic assessment of the biologic aggressiveness of the disease and to detect malignant potential of premalignant lesion and conditions which could render us to assess the prognosis of the disease.

Keywords

• Silver Nitrate staining
• nucleolar organizer region (NOR)
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• leukoplakia
• erosive lichen planus
• oral submucous fibrosis
• normal mucosa.