[Usefulness of DNA ploidy, AgNORs, PCNA and c-erbB-2 as predictors of prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma]

Seventy one patients with renal cell carcinomas were examined for a variety of markers associated with tumor malignancy: nuclear DNA ploidy, AgNORs, PCNA and c-erbB-2. Usefulness of the markers in predicting the prognosis was studied by analyzing the relationship between each of these markers and the prognosis of the patients with renal cell carcinomas. DNA ploidy was analyzed by flow cytometry. AgNORs were stained by the silver colloid method. PCNA and c-erbB-2 were detected by immunohistochemistry. In all the patients examined, DNA ploidy, AgNORs, PCNA and c-erbB-2 were significant predictors of the prognosis. Of the patients with grade 2 carcinomas, the survival rate was significantly higher in the patients with the PCNA-positive cells of lower than 35.0% than in those with the positive cells of more than 35.0%. The patients without the expression of c-erbB-2 exhibited a significantly higher survival rate than those with the expression. In the patients with grade 2 carcinomas, however, neither DNA ploidy nor AgNoRs was a significant predictor of the prognosis. These findings suggest that PCNA and c-erbB-2 provide more accurate information than the others to understand the biological characteristics of the grade 2 carcinomas and are useful in predicting the prognosis of the patients with grade 2 renal cell carcinomas.