Significance of Ki67 expression in endometriosis for infertility

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to show the significance of Ki67 expression in endometriosis for infertility.

Study design: It was a retrospective analysis. 670 cases were analyzed. In 484 cases, immunohistochemical proliferation analysis was performed to determine the expression of Ki67. The indicated percentages of Ki67 expression were divided into three groups. An expression below 10% is considered low, 10-30% intermediate, and over 30% is considered high.

Results: There was a significant correlation between Ki67 expression and postoperative pregnancy onset: 66,7% of patients with high proliferation activity became pregnant within one year postoperatively, whereas the 38,7% of patients with moderate and only 17,3% of patients with low Ki67 expression became pregnant.

Conclusion: In this work, high Ki67 expression was more frequent than low Ki67 expression in women with infertility than in patients without infertility. These results contribute to the importance of endometrial resection in the context of infertility treatment.

Keywords: Endometriosis; Infertility; Ki67; Laparoscopy; Level of proliferation; Resection of endometriosis.