Purpose: We reviewed the current literature to discover the range of studies covering tissue-based and noninvasive methods for determining tumor stage and the prognostic value of staging in non-small cell lung cancer.
Design: Despite refinements in staging of non-small cell lung cancer, each stage remains heterogeneous because each stage contains patients who are at higher risk for recurrence than other patients within the same stage. Tissue-based and noninvasive methods have been investigated to complement tumor stage in assessing non-small cell lung cancer prognosis. The prognostic significance of tumor proliferation assessed by Ki-67 protein expression has been demonstrated in non-small cell lung cancer.
Result: Recent positron emission tomography studies have also shown both prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer uptake of [F-18] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and correlation between non-small cell lung cancer FDG uptake and tumor proliferation.
Discussion: We reviewed the prognostic significance of Ki-67 expression in non-small cell lung cancer and related it to positron emission tomography.