Prognostic significance of the proportion of Ki-67-positive cells in adult T-cell leukemia.
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 less than 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant inverse correlation between the percentage of Ki-67-positive cells and the length of survival (P less than 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 less than P less than 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.
Yamada
Y
Y
Department of Hematology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan.
Murata
K
K
Kamihira
S
S
Atogami
S
S
Tsukasaki
K
K
Sohda
H
H
Yanagisako
T
T
Momita
S
S
Jubashi
T
T
Amagasaki
T
T
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase