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.