Relationship between DNA ploidy,expression of ki-67 antigen and gastric cancer metastasis.

AIM:To evaluate the relationship between the expression of Ki-67 antigen and the pathobiological behaviours of gastric cancers especially their distant metastases.METHODS:Fifty-six specimens of gastric cancer routinely fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin (FFEP) were studied by immunohistochemical method.RESULTS: Expression of Ki-67 antigen was significantly related to the distant metastases to liver, ovary and adrenal gland (P < 0.01), but not related to the histological type, growth pattern, depth of invasion, histological differentiation and the metastases to local lymph nodes (P > 0.05).Furthermore, the Ki-67 antigen expression was significantly related to the DNA aneuploidy pattern, which is closely related to poor prognosis (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION:Overexpression of Ki-67 can be used as an objectiv marker of the proliferative activity for predicting prognosis of gastric cancer and metastatic potential to distant organs.