nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio

The estimation of the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio (N:C ratio) is an important factor in diagnosing atypia and malignancy in pathological specimens, particularly in cytology.

The nuclear-to-cytoplasmic (N:C) ratio has proven to be a valuable morphologic feature for the diagnosis of atypia and malignancy.

Typically, the presence of high N:C ratio cells in a population that normally displays a low to moderate N:C ratio is a sign of cellular atypia and even malignancy.

In cytopathology, the N:C ratio is a particularly important diagnostic feature because specimens are often comprised of single cells lacking the architecture of whole tissue samples.

Open references

 The accuracy of the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio estimation among trained morphologists. 2015. doi : 10.1002/cncy.21585