Abstract :
Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignancy in the Indian subcontinent.
Various epidemiological and histologic parameters aid in prediction of prognosis but are not always reliable.
One of the most important mechanisms in oncogenesis is cell proliferation and Ki-67 is a useful marker for
its measurement.
Aims and Objectives: To compare the expression of ki-67 with histologic grade, pT staging, lymph node
status, perineural invasion (PNI) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI).
Materials and Methods: 50 cases of histologically confirmed oral squamous cell carcinoma were included
in the study. ki-67 expression labeling index was measured and correlated with the above mentioned
histologic parameters.
Results: There was an increase in the mean ki-67 expression with increasing histologic grade (p-value
0.047). No statistically significant correlation of ki-67 expression was seen with pathologic T stage (pvalue
0.733), lymph node status (p-value 0.933), lymphovascular invasion (p-value 0.534) and perineural
invasion (p-value 0.573).
Conclusion: Mean ki-67 expression was found to be statistically significant with histologic grade. No
statistically significant correlation of ki-67 expression was seen with pathologic T staging, lymph node
status, presence of lymphovascular invasion and perineural invasion. Further studies correlating ki-
67 expression with PNI/LVI and other histologic parameters in OSCC may aid in early diagnosis and
prediction of the same.
Keyword :
Ki-67, Ki-67 labelling index, Oral squamous cell carcinoma.