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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
HPLC-based Assay to Monitor Extracellular Nucleotide/Nucleoside Metabolism in Human Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells
Published on: July 20, 2016
Circulating Ki-67 protein in plasma as a biomarker and prognostic indicator of acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Jean-Marie Bruey1, Hagop Kantarjian, Zeev Estrov
1Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, Building A, Hematopathology/Oncology R&D, 33608 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675, United States. jeanmarie.x.bruey@questdiagnostics.com
Abstract:
Tissue-based determination of Ki-67, a marker of cellular proliferation, has shown prognostic value in solid tumors and hematological malignancies. We developed and validated an electrochemiluminescence-based method for sensitive measurement of circulating Ki-67 in plasma (cKi-67). This assay demonstrated significantly higher levels of cKi-67 in patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n=27; median, 762; range, 0-4574U/100 microL) than in healthy control subjects (n=114; median, 399; range, 36-2830U/100 microL). Moreover, elevated plasma cKi-67 was associated with significantly shorter survival in ALL patients (P=0.05). These findings suggest that Ki-67 can be detected in circulation and has potential for use as a biomarker for predicting clinical behavior in ALL.