The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer

Abstract Objective The Ki-67 protein is frequently employed in pathological immunohistochemistry to indicate cell proliferation activity. The principal aim of this study was to examine the impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients w...

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Main Authors: Xiaofang Zhang, Mingyang He, Guanghua Zheng, Junjun Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Cancer
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-14445-w
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author Xiaofang Zhang
Mingyang He
Guanghua Zheng
Junjun Bai
author_facet Xiaofang Zhang
Mingyang He
Guanghua Zheng
Junjun Bai
author_sort Xiaofang Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective The Ki-67 protein is frequently employed in pathological immunohistochemistry to indicate cell proliferation activity. The principal aim of this study was to examine the impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Methods A total of 175 patients with SCLC who underwent surgical treatment were included in the study, with available data on the results of postoperative immunohistochemistry of the Ki-67 protein. A retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between the protein and various clinicopathological features of SCLC, as well as its impact on survival. Results The cut-off value for the Ki-67 level was determined to be 75% through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. An elevated Ki-67 level was found to be associated with preoperative chemotherapy (χ2 = 4.980, P = 0.028), preoperative radiotherapy (χ2 = 4.600, P = 0.032), T stage (χ2 = 4.173, P = 0.041), TNM staging (χ2 = 10.472, P = 0.005), and lymph node involvement (χ2 = 16.721, P < 0.0001). The results of the survival analysis indicated that patients with SCLC exhibiting high levels of Ki-67 had a poorer prognosis than those with low Ki-67 levels (P = 0.0004). This was particularly evident in patients aged 60 years or older (P = 0.034), in males (P = 0.046), smoking for a minimum of 30 years (P < 0.001), advanced T staging (T3 + T4) (P = 0.031), lymph node involvement (P = 0.038), and TNM staging (P = 0.015), were associated with poorer outcomes. The univariate Cox regression analysis indicated that exposure to tobacco consumption (P = 0.040), pathologic T stage (P = 0.047), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.002), TNM staging [Stage I vs. II (P = 0.016), Stage I vs. III (P = 0.003)], and Ki-67 positive rate (P < 0.001) were the factors related to prognosis in SCLC. The results of the multivariate regression analysis indicated that T stage(HR: 1.519, 95% CI: 1.116–2.015, P = 0.022), TNM staging[Stage I vs. III (HR: 2.310, 95% CI: 1.320–4.040, P < 0.001)], and Ki-67 expression(HR: 1.405, 95% CI: 1.025–1.810, P < 0.001) was identified as an additional risk factor for SCLC-related mortality. Conclusion In summary, the Ki-67 protein is not only strongly associated with the malignant characteristics of SCLC, but also the stratification of Ki-67 has significant implications for the treatment and prognosis of patients with small-cell lung cancer. Clinical trial number Not applicable.
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spelling doaj-art-2a80140f649844ddaac3e9f9f6879da42025-08-20T03:05:13ZengBMCBMC Cancer1471-24072025-07-012511910.1186/s12885-025-14445-wThe impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancerXiaofang Zhang0Mingyang He1Guanghua Zheng2Junjun Bai3Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical UniversityAbstract Objective The Ki-67 protein is frequently employed in pathological immunohistochemistry to indicate cell proliferation activity. The principal aim of this study was to examine the impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Methods A total of 175 patients with SCLC who underwent surgical treatment were included in the study, with available data on the results of postoperative immunohistochemistry of the Ki-67 protein. A retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between the protein and various clinicopathological features of SCLC, as well as its impact on survival. Results The cut-off value for the Ki-67 level was determined to be 75% through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. An elevated Ki-67 level was found to be associated with preoperative chemotherapy (χ2 = 4.980, P = 0.028), preoperative radiotherapy (χ2 = 4.600, P = 0.032), T stage (χ2 = 4.173, P = 0.041), TNM staging (χ2 = 10.472, P = 0.005), and lymph node involvement (χ2 = 16.721, P < 0.0001). The results of the survival analysis indicated that patients with SCLC exhibiting high levels of Ki-67 had a poorer prognosis than those with low Ki-67 levels (P = 0.0004). This was particularly evident in patients aged 60 years or older (P = 0.034), in males (P = 0.046), smoking for a minimum of 30 years (P < 0.001), advanced T staging (T3 + T4) (P = 0.031), lymph node involvement (P = 0.038), and TNM staging (P = 0.015), were associated with poorer outcomes. The univariate Cox regression analysis indicated that exposure to tobacco consumption (P = 0.040), pathologic T stage (P = 0.047), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.002), TNM staging [Stage I vs. II (P = 0.016), Stage I vs. III (P = 0.003)], and Ki-67 positive rate (P < 0.001) were the factors related to prognosis in SCLC. The results of the multivariate regression analysis indicated that T stage(HR: 1.519, 95% CI: 1.116–2.015, P = 0.022), TNM staging[Stage I vs. III (HR: 2.310, 95% CI: 1.320–4.040, P < 0.001)], and Ki-67 expression(HR: 1.405, 95% CI: 1.025–1.810, P < 0.001) was identified as an additional risk factor for SCLC-related mortality. Conclusion In summary, the Ki-67 protein is not only strongly associated with the malignant characteristics of SCLC, but also the stratification of Ki-67 has significant implications for the treatment and prognosis of patients with small-cell lung cancer. Clinical trial number Not applicable.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-14445-wSmall-cell lung cancerKi-67 antigenPrognosisBiomarker
spellingShingle Xiaofang Zhang
Mingyang He
Guanghua Zheng
Junjun Bai
The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
BMC Cancer
Small-cell lung cancer
Ki-67 antigen
Prognosis
Biomarker
title The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
title_full The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
title_fullStr The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
title_full_unstemmed The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
title_short The impact of stratified management of Ki-67 on the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer
title_sort impact of stratified management of ki 67 on the prognosis of small cell lung cancer
topic Small-cell lung cancer
Ki-67 antigen
Prognosis
Biomarker
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-14445-w
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