Diagnostic and prognostic value of cellular proliferation assessment with Ki-67 protein in dogs suffering from benign and malignant perianal tumors.

In the perianal region of carnivores, skin consists of modified sebaceous glands called perianal glands. Tumors originating from perianal glands are the third most frequent type of neoplasm in male dogs after neoplastic diseases of testes and skin. Ki-67 is a nuclear non-histone protein considered a proliferation marker in normal and neoplastic proliferating cells. Previous investigations revealed that Ki-67 expression may be used as a prognostic factor for breast cancer in humans. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the diagnostic and prognostic value of Ki-67 evaluation in dogs suffering from benign and malignant perianal tumors. The highest value of the Ki-67 index was obtained in the carcinoma group (18.50% ± 2.68), significantly higher compared to the values obtained in the control tissue (7.63% ± 2.12) and adenoma (7.33% ± 1.06; all P < 0.05). Statistically significant differences in the Ki-67 index were not found between the epithelioma group (11.95% ± 1.96) and all other groups (P < 0.05). This investigation on dogs with perianal gland tumors has shown significantly increased expression of Ki-67 antigen in carcinoma cells, while the expression of this protein was similar in the case of control tissues, adenoma and epithelioma. Thus, it may be postulated that Ki-67 evaluation in perianal gland tumors in dogs may serve as a useful marker possessing high diagnostic and prognostic value and enabling differentiation of malignant and benign tumors.