Importance of proliferation markers in gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors: a clinicopathologic study
C Sökmensüer1, G Gedikoglu, B Uzunalimoglu
1Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty of Hacettepe University, Ankara 06100, Turkey. sokmensuer@superonline.com
Background/Aims:
Carcinoid tumors are common tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. Certain criteria such as the depth of invasion, the localization, the tumor size, the mitotic index and the pattern of ploidy are used to determine the potential biological behavior of these tumors some of which might be malignant. The goal of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of proliferation markers (Ki67 and PCNA) in carcinoid tumors by using immunohistochemistry.
Methodology:
An immunostaining in 37 carcinoid tumors arising in various locations of the gastrointestinal tract was performed. The best stained area was selected and 1000 neoplastic cells were counted in order to determine the proliferation index in each case.
Results:
The results of proliferation index were compared with the depth of invasion, the embryologic type, the tumor size, the presence of metastases and disease-free survival by using statistical methods. The Ki67 tumor proliferation index in the tumors > 2.1 cm was significantly different from the tumors < or = 2 cm (P = 0.032).
Conclusions:
The presence of significant correlation between Ki67 positivity and the tumor size might suggest that Ki67 antibody can be useful for the determination of potential behavior of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors.
