Prognostic value of AgNOR in benign and malignant lesions of larynx in a rural medical college hospital, Burdwan, West Bengal.

AgNOR counting is a useful proliferative marker in different malignant lesions and it also acts as a good prognostic indicator in rural hospital. Fifty-three cases of benign and malignant lesions of larynx were examine using AgNOR distribution in routinely processed paraffin embedded histological tissue sections. Significant differences were found between benign lesion, dysplasia (p > 0.10) and carcinoma (p > 0.10). Mean AgNOR count was 2.41% in dysplasia and 3.71% in malignant lesion. This value was high in poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (4.17%) and also in supraglottic type of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma which associated with lymph node metastasis. Thus proliferative marker AgNOR may be a prognostic factor and might be of clinical value as predictor of lymph node metastasis in supraglottic type of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.