Prognostic significance of the proportion of Ki‐67‐positive cells in adult t‐cell leukemia

• Published in: Cancer 1991-05, Vol.67 (10), p.2605-2609
• Main Authors: Yamada, Yasuaki, Murata, Ken, Atogami, Sunao, Tsukasaki, Kunihiro, Sohda, Hisashi, Yanagisako, Takao, Momita, Saburo, Jubashi, Toru, Amagasaki, Tatsuhiko, Kuriyama, Kazutaka, Oyakawa, Yukinobu, Tagawa, Masuko, Ichimaru, Michito, Tomonaga, Masao, Kamihira, Shimeru, Kinoshita, Ken‐Ichiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens, Neoplasm - analysis; Humans; Ki-67 Antigen; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase - blood; Leukemia, T-Cell - enzymology; Leukemia, T-Cell - immunology; Leukemia, T-Cell - mortality; Nuclear Proteins - analysis; Prognosis; Survival Rate
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19910515)67:10<2605::AID-CNCR2820671034>3.0.CO;2-L

The authors examined peripheral blood samples from patients with adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL) using the monoclonal antibody Ki‐67 which detects a nuclear antigen present in actively proliferating cells. In patients with chronic ATL, the percentage of Ki‐67‐positive cells was significantly lower than in acute ATL patients (median values, 3.3% versus 18.9%, P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant inverse correlation between the percentage of Ki‐67‐positive cells and the length of survival (P < 0.001). Serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) levels also showed a significant inverse correlation with survival, but this was less strong than that for Ki‐67 (0.01 < P < 0.02). Thus, Ki‐67 positivity appears to indicate the aggressiveness of ATL, and can possibly be used for the clinical classification of ATL patients as well as for the prediction of prognosis.