The utility of Ki-67 as a prognostic biomarker in pulmonary neuroendocrine tumours: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

The utility of Ki-67 as a prognostic biomarker in pulmonary neuroendocrine tumours: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Blog Article

Introduction The omission of the immunohistochemical proliferation marker Ki-67 labelling index (henceforth, simply Ki-67) from the 2015 WHO classification system of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumours (Lung-NETs) as a prognostic and grading criterion remains controversial.This systematic review along with meta-analysis will be conducted to assess the prognostic/grading utility of Ki-67 in Lung-NETs.Methods This systematic review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.

A systematic search of MEDLINE Ovid, Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library will be performed from L-Tryptophan the inception of each database to 28 February 2019 for studies investigating any role of Ki-67 in Lung-NETs.Only full papers published in English detailing survival outcomes and HRs according to Ki-67 will be included.The primary endpoint will be establishing whether Ki-67 is a reliable marker in determining prognosis and thus assessing grade of Lung-NETs patients.

Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval will not be required as this is an academic review of published literature.Findings will be disseminated through CREACTOR ICY ROCKET the preparation of a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal as well as presentation at national and international conferences.PROSPERO registration number CRD42018093389.