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Comparison of proliferative activity as assessed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki‐67 monoclonal antibodies in melanocytic skin lesions
Author(s) -
Rieger Edgar,
HofmannWellnhof Rainer,
Soyer H. Peter,
Kofler Regina,
Cerroni Lorenzo,
Smolle Josef,
Kerl Helmut
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0560.1993.tb00648.x
Subject(s) - proliferating cell nuclear antigen , immunostaining , immunohistochemistry , ki 67 , pathology , breslow thickness , melanoma , medicine , cancer , cancer research , sentinel lymph node , breast cancer
Immunostaining with the monoclonal antibodies PCNA and Ki‐67 provides a simple method for the assessment of growth fractions of tumors. Contrary to Ki‐67, PCNA antibody can be applied on aldehyde‐ or alcohol‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded tissues, thus allowing studies on archival material. For 77 melanocytic skin lesions, we compared PCNA immunostaining on formalin‐fixed tissue with Ki‐67 immunostaining on frozen material of the same lesion. 16 benign melanocytic nevi (BMN, from 16 patients), 43 primary malignant melanomas (PMM, 42 patients), and 18 skin mclastases of malignant melanoma (MMM, 12 patients) were included in the study. Maximum nuclear density (ND max ) of PCNA‐ and Ki‐67‐positivc nuclei was assessed using interactive image analysis. ND max values for both PCNA and Ki‐67 differed significantly between the three diagnostic groups (Kruskal‐Wallis H‐test: p ≪ 0.001). Mean values (given as 1000 nuclei/mm 1 tissue) increased considerably from benign lo malignant lesions (PCNA: BMN: 23.8 ± 28.4 [mean ± standard deviation], PMM: 48.1 ± 41.0, MMM: 117.0 ± 64.6; Ki‐67: BMN: 6.4 ± 3.3, PMM 25.0 ± 31.1, MMM: 95.2 ± 47.2). Correlation between ND max values of PCNA‐ and Ki‐67‐positive nuclei was significant (Linear regression analysis: r = 0.51, p ≪ 0.001). Furthermore, for PMM a significant correlation between histologic parameters related to prognosis (Breslow index and mitotic rate) and PCNA as well as Ki‐67 expression was found (PCNA – Breslow index: r = 0.42, p < 0.01; Ki‐67 – Breslow index: r = 0.60, p ≪ 0.001; PCNA – mitotic rale: r = 0.40, p <.0.01; Ki‐67 – milotic rale: r = 0.50, p < 0.001). Concerning patients' survival, ND max values of PCNA – and Ki‐67‐posilive nuclei as a single prognostic parameter were not superior to Breslow index. We conclude that PCNA and Ki‐67 expression as assessed by interactive image analysis may be suitable for tumor grading in melanocytic skin lesions. The relevance of these parameters for prognosis remains to be determined by long‐term follow‐up studies.