Circulating Ki-67 protein in plasma as a biomarker and prognostic indicator of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Bruey, Jean-Marie; Kantarjian, Hagop; Estrov, Zeev; Zhang, Zhong; Ma, Wanlong; Albitar, Ferras; Abdool, Adam; Thomas, Deborah; Yeh, Chenhsiung; O’Brien, Susan; Albitar, Maher

doi:10.1016/j.leukres.2009.07.030

« Previous Next »Leukemia Research
Volume 34, Issue 2 , Pages 173-176, February 2010

Circulating Ki-67 protein in plasma as a biomarker and prognostic indicator of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Jean-Marie Bruey
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
- Corresponding author at: Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, Building A, Hematopathology/Oncology R&D, 33608 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675, United States. Tel.: +1 949 728 4622; fax: +1 949 728 7781.
Hagop Kantarjian
- Leukemia Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, United States
Zeev Estrov
- Leukemia Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, United States
Zhong Zhang
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
Wanlong Ma
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
Ferras Albitar
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
Adam Abdool
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
Deborah Thomas
- Leukemia Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, United States
Chenhsiung Yeh
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States
Susan O’Brien
- Leukemia Department, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, United States
Maher Albitar
- Hematology, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, United States

Received 19 March 2009; received in revised form 25 June 2009; accepted 18 July 2009. published online 07 March 2011.

Abstract

Tissue-based determination of Ki-67, a marker of cellular proliferation, has shown prognostic value in solid tumors and hematological malignancies. We developed and validated an electrochemiluminescence-based method for sensitive measurement of circulating Ki-67 in plasma (cKi-67). This assay demonstrated significantly higher levels of cKi-67 in patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n=27; median, 762; range, 0–4574U/100μL) than in healthy control subjects (n=114; median, 399; range, 36–2830U/100μL). Moreover, elevated plasma cKi-67 was associated with significantly shorter survival in ALL patients (P=0.05). These findings suggest that Ki-67 can be detected in circulation and has potential for use as a biomarker for predicting clinical behavior in ALL.