Reproducibility and variability of the rectal mucosal proliferation index using proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry.

Rectal mucosal proliferation has been shown to be increased in patients with neoplastic lesions of the large bowel and may serve as a marker of risk for colorectal malignancy. We conducted analyses to determine reliability and components of variability that might suggest optimal analysis strategies for studies of proliferation. Endoscopic pinch biopsies were obtained from 17 adult patients, labeled using proliferating cell nuclear antigen, …