Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ki-67 protein and immune cells in dog colorectal cancer tumors
By Woldemeskel, M et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2017·Department of Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ki-67 protein expression and tumor associated inflammatory cells (macrophages and mast cells) in canine colorectal carcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 17 dogs with colorectal cancer to understand the role of certain proteins and immune cells in the tumors. Researchers found that a protein called Ki-67, which indicates how fast cancer cells are growing, was linked to the number of tumor-associated immune cells. Dogs with colorectal cancer had higher levels of these markers compared to dogs with benign growths. This suggests that measuring Ki-67 and immune cells could help veterinarians assess the severity of colorectal cancer in dogs and guide treatment decisions.
People also search for: dog colorectal cancer symptoms · Ki-67 in dog tumors · treatment for dog colorectal carcinoma
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ki67 index, tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) and mast cells (MCs) are associated with malignancies in animal and human neoplasms including colorectal carcinomas (CRC). This has not been assessed in canine CRC. Given similar genetic abnormalities between human and canine CRC, we assessed Ki-67 and mitotic indices, TAMs and MC count (MCC) in canine CRC (n = 17). TAMs and MCC were compared with those in adenomas (n = 13) and control (n = 9). RESULTS: Ki-67 index in CRC (17.13 ± 11.50) was strongly correlated (r = 0.98, p < 0.05) with mitotic index (3.52 ± 1.80). MCC was higher (p < 0.05) in CRC (6.30 ± 3.98) than in adenomas (0.78 ± 0.77) and control (0.35 ± 0.33). The results suggest that Ki-67 index and MCC are associated with malignancy in canine CRC. Higher average TAMs were counted in adenomas (21.30 ± 20.70) and in CRC (11.00 ± 9.82) than in the control (7.69 ± 7.26), although the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ki-67 index, TAMs and MCC in canine CRC were recorded for the first time in this study. Ki-67 index and MCC are associated with malignancy in canine CRC. Quantitative assessment of MCs and Ki-67 coupled with mitotic index and other clinical parameters may help in evaluating malignancy in canine CRC. TAMs likely play a role in the development of canine colorectal tumors. Further studies to determine the clinical significance of these parameters for prognostic, chemo-preventive and chemotherapeutic purposes in canine colorectal tumors are recommended.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28427401/