Expression of Ki67 and CD105 as Proliferation and Angiogenesis Markers in Salivary Gland Tumors

Objective: To investigate the association between CD105 and tumor cell proliferation in salivary gland tumors. Methods: In this study, 59 samples of salivary tumors from Khalili Hospital archive, including 20 cases of pleomorphic adenoma (PA), 20 cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) and 19 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma, as well as 10 cases of normal salivary gland tissue, were reviewed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for CD105 and Ki67 staining. Results: CD105 positive vessels were absent in normal salivary gland tissue in the vicinity of tumors (51.6% of all tumors were positive). There was a statistically significant difference in frequency of CD105 staining between PA and malignant tumors and between four groups of different lesions (p<0.000) being highest in MEC. Intratumoral microvessel density was also elevated in malignant neoplasms (2.61 +/- 3.1) as compared to PA (0.46 +/- 0.6). Normal salivary glands did not express Ki67. There was a statistically significant difference in frequency and percentage of Ki67 immunoreactivity in malignant neoplasms (86.5% and 10.7 +/- 10.8 respectively) compared to PA (50% and 0.78 +/- 0.2) and among the four groups values were highest in MEC (p<0.000). Conclusion: n this study, it was observed a higher rate of angiogenesis and cellular proliferation was noted in malignant tumors compared to benign tumors, but no correlation was observed between these two markers.