Expression of Ki67 and CerbB-2 in Gall Bladder, Oesophageal, Small Intestinal and Colorectal Adenocarcinomas: A Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western U.P.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Gall bladder cancer is the commonestbiliary tract malignancy with poor prognosis. Oesophagealadenocarcinomas are aggressive with very poor survival.Adenocarcinomas of small intestine are rare, in comparisonto colorectal carcinomas. We studied the expression of twocommonly studied immunohistochemical markers Ki67 andCerbB-2 in gall bladder and gastrointestinal carcinomas, tofind out their prognostic significance.Material and Methods: Histopathologically confirmed casesof adenocarcinomas of gall bladder (19 cases), oesophagus(3 cases), small intestine (3 cases) and colorectal region (8cases) were included. Formalin fixed paraffin embeddedtissue blocks were retrieved and sections were studiedimmunohistochemically for expression of Ki67 and CerbB-2.Tumors of all stages and grades were studied.Results: Our study revealed a significantly high Ki67in neoplastic glands of gall bladder, oesophageal, smallintestinal and colorectal adenocarcinomas as comparedto the non neoplastic areas. The Ki67 labelling index washigher in moderately and poorly differentiated areas as wellas mucinous and signet ring type adenocarcinomas. Therewas no relation with stage/depth of tumor invasion. CerbB-2was significantly overexpressed in gall bladder and colorectaladenocarcinomas. Expression was higher in advanced stageand greater depth of invasion. There was no associationwith tumor grade or type. In esophageal and small intestineadenocarcinomas, expression was not related to either tumorstage or grade.Conclusion: A panel of Ki67 and CerbB-2 in gastrointestinaland biliary tract malignancies may correlate well with differentprognostic indicators in these malignancies, like tumor stage,histologic type and grade.