Ki-67 and biological behaviour in meningeal haemangiopericytomas

The biological behaviour of meningeal haemangiopericytomas was retrospectively studied using immunohistochemical staining with MIB1, a monoclonal antibody against the Ki-67 antigen, a nuclear protein related to cell proliferation. Paraffin-embedded material from 62 tumours from 40 patients were investigated. The proliferating compartment of the tumours was estimated by evaluating the MIB1 staining index, i.e. the percentage of MIB1 positive nuclei in at least 1000 counted tumour cells in representative areas. The staining index ranged from 1.24% to 39.01%. Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlation between the staining index and recurrence-free survival (chi(2) = 0.3922, P = 0.5311). Long-term observation (> 100 months), however, revealed a tendency to longer survival in the group with a staining index less than 5%. According to our results, the MIB1 staining index does not contribute to the accuracy of predicting the clinical outcome of meningeal haemangiopericytomas.