Comparison of proliferation index between nestin-positive cells and glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells in human astrocytic tumors

Multivariate modeling has demonstrated that the proliferation index （PI） of tumor cells is one of the strongest prognostic factors related to the survival of patients with astrocytic tumors. Studies have indicated that the glioma regenerative cells derived from nestin-positive （N^＋） cells after chemotherapy. Early removal of N^＋cells can block the malignant progress of tumor.2 However, few studies compared the PI between N^＋cells and glial fibrillary acidic protein （GFAP）-positive （GFAP^＋） cells in human astrocytic tumors. In the present study, we investigated the distribution and proliferation ofN^＋cells and GFAP^＋ cells in human astrocytic tumors to clarify the role these cells play in the cytopathology of these tumors.