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University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
Requests for reprints: Carol J. Fabian, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66160. Phone: 913-588-7791; Fax: 913-588-3679. E-mail: cfabian{at}kumc.edu
| Abstract |
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50 (median 2% versus 0.6%; P = 0.006) and from premenopausal women versus postmenopausal women (P = 0.037); however, hormone replacement therapy (predominately low-dose estrogen without progestins) had no effect. By univariate analysis, Ki-67 was positively correlated with ductal cell number (P = 0.001) and hyperplasia with atypia (P = 0.007). By multivariable analysis, the proportion of ductal cells expressing Ki-67 was again predicted by cell number, which, in turn, was predicted by cytologic atypia. The association of Ki-67 expression with cytologic atypia, a known risk factor for development of breast cancer, provides preliminary justification for its use as a response biomarker in phase II chemoprevention trials. | Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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1.7%, whose relative risk of developing breast cancer was at least five times that of the general population for their age based on a 5-year Gail risk assessment, whose prior breast biopsy had exhibited atypical hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ, who were known to carry a BRCA1/2 mutation, or who had a prior contralateral treated breast cancer. Women must have a normal mammogram at the time of aspiration and have been at least 6 months from change in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), ingestion of any selective estrogen receptor modulator or aromatase inhibitor, and 1 year from pregnancy, lactation, or any prior chemotherapy.
Eligibility Criteria
Ki-67 assessment was attempted only for specimens estimated to have sufficient (
500) ductal cells on each of the slides designated for cytomorphology and Ki-67.
Gail Risk Calculation
The projected probability of developing in situ or invasive cancer at 5 years was calculated for each subject according to the Gail model estimated at the time of aspiration (http://bcra.nci.nih.gov/brc/; ref. 12).
RPFNA Procedure
Subjects with a prior history of breast cancer (invasive or ductal carcinoma in situ) had RPFNA done only on the uninvolved breast. RPFNA was done as previously described (4). For premenopausal women, all RPFNAs were done on days 1 to 12 (follicular portion) of the menstrual cycle.
Specimen Handling
Material from all breast aspiration sites for each woman was pooled in a 15 mL conical tube containing 9 mL CytoLyt (Cytyc, Boxborough, MA) and 1 mL of 10% neutral buffered formalin. Conical tubes were placed on a Verimix Rocker (Barnstead International, Dubuque, IA) at low speed. Cells were then washed with CytoLyt, processed to a pellet, placed in PreservCyt (Cytyc) for 48 hours, and then processed to three to four slides using a standard Thin Prep 2000 (Cytyc) nongynecologic protocol. At least two slides were Papanicolaou stained, with one used for morphology and one for Ki-67 staining.
RNase-Free Papanicolaou Staining Procedure
Slides for both cytomorphology and Ki-67 were Papanicolaou stained under RNase-free conditions with hematoxylin, OG-6, and EA-65 (all from Richard Allen Scientific, Kalamazoo, MI) and were prepared on the ThinPrep Processor.
Cytomorphology Assessment
Cytomorphology was assessed by a single cytopathologist (C.M. Zalles) and classified by three different methods: traditional (13), Masood semiquantitative index (14), and the 1996 National Cancer Institute Consensus Panel Criteria (15). The traditional method classifies preparations as nonproliferative, apocrine metaplasia, epithelial hyperplasia, hyperplasia with atypia, or carcinoma (13). The Masood index scoring system assigns a score of 1 to 4 points to each of six morphologic characteristics: cellular arrangement, cellular pleomorphism, prevalence of myoepithelial cells, anisonucleosis, nucleoli, and chromatin clumping. A score of 6 to 10 is generally associated with nonproliferative specimens, 11 to 14 with hyperplasia without atypia, 15 to 18 with hyperplasia with atypia, and 19 to 24 with malignancy (14). National Cancer Institute Consensus Panel Criteria classify specimens as benign, atypical/indeterminate, suspicious/probably malignant, malignant, and unsatisfactory (15). Cytologic assessments were made without knowledge of the results of the Ki-67 assessment.
Ki-67 Assessment
Only slides containing >500 epithelial cells were processed and stained for Ki-67. Antigen retrieval was done with 10 mmol/L citrate buffer (pH 6) in a BioCare (Walnut Creek, CA) decloaking chamber for 2 minutes at 120°C. Slides were then stained with MIB-1 monoclonal antibody (M7240; DakoCytomation, Carpinteria, CA) at a 1:20 dilution in a Dako Autostainer. A categorical estimate of the number of ductal epithelial cells present on the Ki-67 slide was made as 500 to 1,000; 1,000 to 5,000; or >5,000. Hyperplastic cell clusters were preferentially assessed and the number of cells with unequivocal nuclear staining out of 500 cells assessed was recorded. Slides were hand scored by two readers and assessments recorded on separate case report forms; however, in case of a difference between the two readers, the scores were averaged. As we have previously reported, agreement between two readers using this method was excellent (Cronbach's
= 0.99; ref. 16).
Statistical Analysis
Frequencies of categorical variables were assessed using
2 analysis. Continuous variables were assessed using the Mann-Whitney nonparametric test. Multivariate analyses were done using stepwise linear regression.
| Results |
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500) in the slide designated for Ki-67 were included in this analysis. Median age was 49 years (range 28-78 years). Eighty-nine (60%) women were <50 years of age. Sixty-seven (45%) women were premenopausal and 80 (55%) were postmenopausal. Among postmenopausal women, 47 (59%) women were on some form of HRT, including 26 on estrogen alone, 4 on estrogen plus testosterone, 11 on estrogen plus progestins (3 with testosterone as well), 5 on poorly absorbed vaginal estrogens, and 1 on a soy supplement.
Ki-67 Expression
For the entire cohort, the median level of Ki-67 expression was 1.4% (range 0-23.6%) as shown in Table 1. There was excellent agreement and low interobserver variance between the two readers for the 147 specimens (R2 = 0.99).
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50 years (P = 0.006, Mann-Whitney test). Median Ki-67 was 2% among specimens from premenopausal women compared with 1% in specimens from postmenopausal women (P = 0.037). There was no difference in Ki-67 expression for specimens from postmenopausal women receiving HRT versus those not on HRT, but only 23% of women on HRT were on estrogen plus a progestin. Lastly, there was a marginally significant difference for Ki-67 expression between specimens from women with a 5-year Gail risk below the median of 2.2% versus those with a Gail risk above the median (median Ki-67 values of 2.2% versus 1.0%, P = 0.039).
Correlation of Ki-67 Expression with Cytologic Morphology and Cell Number
Traditional Cytologic Assessment. Ki-67 was higher in women classified as having RPFNA epithelial hyperplasia with atypia than those with hyperplasia without atypia (Fig. 1). Median Ki-67 was 2.8% in specimens characterized as hyperplasia with atypia compared with 1.1% in specimens of hyperplasia (P = 0.007; Table 1).
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15, respectively (Fig. 2). Globally, these values are statistically significantly different (P = 0.025 by Kruskal-Wallis test) with a specific pairwise comparison being significant for
12 versus
15 (P = 0.002; Fig. 2). Specimens classified as indeterminate/atypia had a significantly higher Ki-67 than those who were benign (P = 0.028).
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Despite the general correlations of Ki-67 with cytomorphology, there was still considerable heterogeneity. For example, 21% of specimens with both evidence of atypia and >5,000 cells per slide exhibited no Ki-67 staining.
Prediction of Ki-67 Expression: Multivariable Analysis
Regression analysis was conducted to ascertain which of the above variables, associated with Ki-67 by univariate analysis (Table 1), would best predict for Ki-67 expression. The variables examined in the regression analysis were age, menopause status, HRT use, Gail risk, cell category number, and cytomorphology assessment by traditional, National Cancer Institute Consensus Panel criteria, and Masood score. Only cell number category was a significant (P = 0.004) determinant of Ki-67 in the multivariable analysis. However, if cell number was excluded from the regression analysis, traditional cytomorphology category was the only variable to be associated with Ki-67 expression (P = 0.027). Cytomorphology and cell count were highly associated in univariate analysis (P = 0.002).
| Discussion |
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Our values for Ki-67 in cytology specimens with hyperplasia are similar to those reported by other authors for histologic preparations (9, 17-20). Further, our study results were similar to those reported by others in which higher Ki-67 values were reported in premenopausal than in postmenopausal women (19). All of our specimens from premenopausal women were obtained during the follicular phase. Higher values might be anticipated had premenopausal women with proliferative breast changes been sampled during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (20). Given the small size of this pilot study, it is not clear whether the association between cytomorphology and Ki-67 holds for both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Perhaps the greatest use for Ki-67 assessment in benign breast tissue will not be for risk stratification but as a response biomarker in early phase prevention trials (2, 3). For the majority of our ongoing pilot and phase II prevention trials in which Ki-67 is the primary response biomarker, we now require a 2% level of Ki-67 staining for a woman to enter the treatment portion of the study. This seems logical given that cytologic atypia is associated with a median value Ki-67 of 2.8%. Our prior studies indicate that 70% of high-risk women will exhibit proliferative cytology and our current study indicates that 40% of high-risk women with proliferative cytology (57% with atypia, 27% with hyperplasia alone) can be expected to exhibit this
2% level of Ki-67 staining.
In summary, our observation that increased Ki-67 expression is associated with the established risk biomarker of RPFNA evidence of cytologic atypia provides preliminary support for its current use as a risk biomarker and response end point in early breast cancer chemoprevention trials.
| Footnotes |
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 3/29/04; revised 11/12/04; accepted 12/ 6/04.
| References |
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and Ki 67 expression. Am J Pathol 2002;160:597604.This article has been cited by other articles:
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