Objective: To study the pathological diagnostic significance of argentophil protein (AgNOR) quantitative analysis at nucleolus area of limbus epithelial neoplasms.
Methods: Automatic image analysis system was used for argentophil protein granule measurement in the pathologic diagnosis of 45 cases with limbus epithelial neoplasms, including benign hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia, carcinoma in situ and squamous cell carcinoma.
Results: In various lesions, there were the differences in the distributive pattern, size and area of AgNOR granules, which were closely related to the nature of the neoplasms (benign or malignant) and its cell differentiation.
Conclusion: Automatic image analysis of AgNOR quantitative measurement on limbus epithelial neoplasms may indicate the proliferative activity and cell differentiation in various lesions, help to differentiate benign or malignant neoplasms and effectively enhance the level of pathologic diagnosis.