Ki-67 is an independent predictor of metastasis and cause-specific mortality for prostate cancer patients treated on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 94-08 - Abstract

PURPOSE: The association of Ki-67 staining index (Ki67-SI) with overall survival (OS), disease-specific mortality (DSM), distant metastasis (DM), and biochemical failure (BF) was examined in men with favorable- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer receiving radiation therapy (RT) alone or with short-term androgen deprivation (ADT) in Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 94-08.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: 468 patients (23.6%) on RTOG 94-08 had sufficient tissue for Ki67-SI analysis. The median follow-up time was 7.9 years. Ki67-SI was determined by immunohistochemistry and quantified manually and by image analysis. Correlative analysis versus clinical outcome was performed using the third quartile (≥Q3) cutpoint. A proportional hazards multivariable analysis (MVA) dichotomized covariates in accordance with trial stratification and randomization criteria.

RESULTS: In MVAs adjusted for all treatment covariates, high Ki67-SI (≥Q3) was correlated with increased DSM (hazard ratio [HR] 2.48, P=.03), DM (HR 3.5, P=.002), and BF (HR 3.55, P< .0001). MVA revealed similar Ki67-associated hazard ratios in each separate treatment arm for DSM, DM, and BF; these reached significance only for DM in the RT-alone arm and for BF in both arms. Ki67-SI was not a significant predictor of intraprostatic recurrence assessed by repeated biopsy 2 years after treatment. Patients with a high or low Ki67-SI seemed to experience a similar relative benefit from the addition of ADT to radiation.

CONCLUSIONS: High Ki67-SI independently predicts for increased DSM, DM, and protocol BF in primarily intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients treated with RT with or without ADT on RTOG 94-08 but does not predict for local recurrence or for increased relative benefit from ADT. This and prior studies lend support for the use of Ki67-SI as a stratification factor in future trials.

Written by:
Verhoven B, Yan Y, Ritter M, Khor LY, Hammond E, Jones C, Amin M, Bahary JP, Zeitzer K, Pollack A.   Are you the author?
University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

Reference: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2013 Mar 5. pii: S0360-3016(13)00080-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2013.01.016


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23474109

UroToday.com Prostate Cancer Section