Kholoud Refaat Ahmed; Amal Hassan Abdel-Rahman And Hend Mohammed Wagih,

ABSTRACT
Background: Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (MEC) Is A Malignant Glandular Epithelial Neoplasm Having An Unpredictable Behavior And A Tendency To Recur. Numerous Parameters Have Been Assessed To Predict The Outcome Of This Lesion, But Have Been Deemed Inadequate, With The Exception Of Tumor Stage And Grade. In The Present Study We Attempt To Compare The Diagnostic Accuracy Of Two Indicators (PHH3 And AgNOR) In Different Grades Of Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma And Correlate The Sensitivity Of Their Proliferative Index With The Histopathologic Grades Of MEC.

Materials and Methods: A 22 Paraffin Blocks Of MEC From Both Major And Minor Salivary Glands Of Various Grades Were Retrieved From The Archives Of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology Department, Faculty Of Dentistry And National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. Paraffin Blocks Were Cut Into 4 Micron Thick Sections And Placed On Positively Charged (Opti-Plus, Biogenex Laboratory, USA) For PHH3 Immunostaining Procedures. Histological Grading Was Done And Slides Were Stained For AgNOR Counts.Area Percent Of Immunohistochemical Expression Of PHH3 Was Measured By Software Leica Qwin 500.

Results: All Cases Of Low Grade MEC Revealed Large Regular Focally Dispersed AgNOR Dots All Over The Squamoid Cells There?s Statistically Significant Direct Relation Between PHH3 MARKER And AgNORs MARKER Conclusion: AgNORs As A Marker For Cell Proliferation Seems To Be More Sensitive In Differentiation Between Low And High Grades Of MEC Than PHH3 Marker.