Revisiting Ki-67 Assessment in Canine Mast Cell Tumours: From Manual Hotspot to Automated Global Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Canine mast cell tumours (MCTs) show highly variable behaviour, and Ki-67 is an established prognostic indicator. Conventional Ki-67 assessment is manual and restricted to small hotspot areas, limiting reliability. This study presents a semi-automated whole-tumour tissue section (global) Ki-67 analysis workflow, outlines its limitations, and examines correlations with hotspot counts and clinical outcome. A total of 309 canine MCTs were assessed using a deep-learning-assisted quantification with commercial software. Global Ki-67 metrics were correlated with hotspot Ki-67 counts and histomorphologic tumour grades, as supported by clinical follow-up data from 68 dogs. The defined analytic workflow enabled an overall feasible global Ki-67 assessment in canine MCTs. The region-of-interest (ROI)

SUBMITTER: Scalco R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12945039 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature