ki-67 expression as a diagnostic biomarker in odontogenic cysts and tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ki-67 is a marker of cell proliferation, used as an important diagnostic marker in the pathologic differentiation of various lesions. it is also relevant for developing targeted molecular therapies. we carried out a systematic review to assess the ki-67 labeling index (li) in odontogenic cysts and tumors. databases were searched, including pubmed (medline), scopus, cinhal, psycoinfo, the cochrane library, and proquest. the meta-analysis was carried out based on the data of 608 lesions. when a 5% cut-off point was set, ki-67 li of all benign odontogenic tumors dropped below this point. all the malignant tumors demonstrated an li of over 15.3%; a significantly higher ki-67 li in malignant odontogenic lesions (17.59 ± 2.80) was observed. among benign tumors, the largest and the smallest ki-67 lis were seen in ameloblastoma (4.39 ± 0.47) and adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (0.91 ± 1.71). the mean values of ki-67 li in tumors and cysts were 4.23 (0.38) and 1.04 (0.07), respectively. among odontogenic cysts, the highest ki-67 li was found in odontogenic keratocyst (okc) (3.58 ± 0.51), and the lowest in the radicular cyst (1.29 ± 0.62%). ki-67 lis in all odontogenic cysts were <3%, except for okc. this controversial lesion seems to have a profile more similar to a tumor, and a treatment plan similar to tumors might be suggested. we found that odontogenic lesions have diverse proliferative activities that help differentiate between various lesions and suggest therapeutic plans.