Cell proliferation indexes: A biomarker in solid tumors

Clinical studies have shown that carcinogenesis is linked to the development of proliferative abnormalities, Proliferative activity has been found to have prognostic significance in a variety of human tumors, Because proliferative abnormalities can precede the occurrence of morphological abnormalities, their measurement could also serve as useful biomarkers for chemoprevention trials, The variety of techniques for measuring cell proliferation in routine sections include mitosis counting, AgNORs, DNA precursor uptake (bromodeoxyuridine), and immunohistochemical detection of cell cycle proteins (PCNA, Ki-67/MIB-1), It is essential that the virtues and limitations of these methods be examined to ensure collection of meaningful clinical data.