Expression of Ki-67 in acute myeloid leukemia and its clinical significance

Objective To explore the expression and clinical significance of proliferation associated antigen Ki-67 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods A total of 45 AML patients (including 36 newly diagnosed AML patients and 9 recurrent AML patients) and 20 healthy volunteers (healthy group) were enrolled from October 2012 to January 2016 in Department of Hematology in Fuxing Hospital. The expression of Ki-67 in bone marrow blast cells were detected by flow cytometry(FCM). The relation between Ki-67 level and clinical characteristics, and the prognostic significance of Ki-67 were studied. Results The positive rate of Ki-67 in newly diagnosed AML, recurrent AML patients and healthy controls were (10.38±8.41)%, (20.99±11.49)% and (40.77±11.97)%, respectively. The positive rate of Ki-67 in newly diagnosed AML patients or recurrent AML patients were significantly lower than that in healthy controls(all P 0.05). There was no significant difference of overall survival between high Ki-67 expression group and low Ki-67 expression group in newly diagnosed AML patients [(780±110) d vs. (788±118) d, P=0.927]. Conclusions The proliferation of blast cells in AML patients is lower than that in healthy controls. Detecting the level of Ki-67 may provide a reference for choosing the cell cycle specific chemotherapy drugs in clinical practice. Monitoring Ki-67 during AML process contributes to monitoring disease progression and predicting recurrence. Key words: Leukemia, myeloid, acute; Ki-67; Flow cytometry