Assessment of the expression of p53, MIB‐1 (Ki‐67 antigen), and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct

BACKGROUND The authors retrospectively examined the predictive value of p53, MIB‐1, and the argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) and examined the relationships among them in carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct (EHBD). METHODS Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded specimens from 54 patients with EHBD carcinoma were immunostained with MIB‐1 against the Ki‐67 nuclear antigen and p53 by the avidin‐biotin peroxidase complex method, using the antigen retrieval technique of heating tissue sections in a microwave oven. The AgNOR proteins were localized at the optical level, as shown by a one‐step silver staining technique. RESULTS MIB‐1 and AgNOR were closely associated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01). The cumulative survival rate for patients with a low MIB‐1 labeling index (LI) (