An application of MIB antibody to the retrospective study of melanomas of oral mucosa and facial skin.

A new monoclonal antibody prepared against a fragment of Ki-67 antigen MIB, from Dianova, was applied for investigation of malignant melanomas of facial skin (25 cases) and the oral cavity (25 cases), which were routinely embedded in paraffin. The values of the Ki-67 index (expressed as a percentage of positive nuclei) were correlated with TNM characteristics of tumors and patient survival. Significant correlation was found between the Ki-67 index and the level of lymph node involvement (N value), the presence of distant metastases and the time of patient survival. A positive relationship between the Ki-67 value and tumor size was also observed although it lacked statistical significance.