Immunohistochemical staining of Ki-67 using the monoclonal antibody Ki-s11 is a prognostic indicator for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Proliferative activity has been shown to be of prognostic significance for several malignancies. Ki-67, a cell cycle associated antigen, is regarded as a promising proliferation marker. Very few results on the proliferative activity of head and neck cancer and their potential prognostic value are available. MATERIALS AND METHODS The proliferative activity of 104 squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx (SCCL) was analyzed retrospectively with the monoclonal antibody Ki-S11 which specifically detects the Ki-67 antigen. Median follow-up time was 47 months. RESULTS There was a statistically significant correlation (p<0.05) between histopathological grading, N-status and proliferative activity. There was also a significant difference for the 5-year survival between low and highly proliferating tumours. The patient group with low proliferating laryngeal cancer had a statistically (p<0.05) longer absolute and recurrence-free 5-year-survival time than patients with a highly proliferating cancer. CONCLUSION These results show that Ki-67 staining of SCCL with Ki-S11 is a helpful prognostic indicator for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx with a potential clinical application.