Clinical value of Ki-67 in the grading and comprehensive management of medullary thyroid carcinoma
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Department of Thyroid Surgery/Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Surgical Translational Medicine/Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Thyroid Disease Prevention and Control, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130033, China

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R736.1

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    Abstract:

    Ki-67, a key marker of cellular proliferation, has gained increasing recognition in the management of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). With the establishment of the International Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Grading System (IMTCGS), a Ki-67 proliferation index ≥5% has been incorporated as a major criterion for defining high-grade MTC and predicting adverse outcomes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the role of Ki-67 across the continuum of MTC care. In diagnosis, the Ki-67 index assessed in fine-needle aspiration samples correlates well with surgical specimens and assists in predicting tumor grade and optimizing imaging strategies. In prognosis, elevated Ki-67 levels are significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features, shorter survival, and accelerated calcitonin/CEA doubling times, establishing Ki-67 as a robust independent prognostic indicator. In therapeutic decision-making, Ki-67 may help determine surgical extent, guide postoperative surveillance, and serve as a dynamic marker for evaluating response to targeted therapies. Ki-67 also demonstrates potential complementary value when combined with RET mutations and other molecular biomarkers, supporting more refined risk stratification. Although interobserver variability remains a limitation, advances in AI-assisted pathology and preliminary studies on serum Ki-67 offer promising avenues for standardization and non-invasive assessment. Overall, Ki-67 plays an increasingly important role in grading, prognostication, and clinical decision-making in MTC, and may further enhance individualized disease management.

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LAN Dongyuan, YANG Mingyu, CHI Hao, WANG Hongbo, BAI Kecheng, QIU Yingjia, SUI Chengqiu, ZHANG Daqi. Clinical value of Ki-67 in the grading and comprehensive management of medullary thyroid carcinoma[J]. Chin J Gen Surg,2025,34(11):2433-2441.
DOI:10.7659/j. issn.1005-6947.250153

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History
  • Received:March 18,2025
  • Revised:October 22,2025
  • Adopted:
  • Online: December 27,2025
  • Published: