Cyclins D1, D3, E, and A in vulvar carcinoma patients

Objective. The treatment of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma patients is often mutilating. Effort is being made to individualize treatment in order to reduce negative side effects for patients with good prognosis. Molecular markers have been able to predict patient outcome in several tumors. The aim of this study was to characterize the expression of cyclins D1, D3, E, and A in a comparatively large series of patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma and look for prognostic impact. Methods. A total of 224 vulvar squamous cell carcinomas were immunohistochemically investigated for expression of cyclins D1, D3, E, and A using the biotin-streptavidin-peroxidase method and the OptiMax Plus automated cell staining system. Results. High protein levels of cyclin D1 (any positive nuclei) were found in 58 (26%) cases, cyclin D3 (>= 50% positive nuclei) in 61 (27%) cases, cyclin E ( >= 50% positive nuclei) in 41 (18%) cases, and cyclin A (>= 5% positive nuclei) in 156 (70%) cases. No prognostic impact was found for the cyclins D1, D3, E, or A. Conclusions. The high number of cases showing increased levels of cyclin A suggests that this protein may be important in the pathogenesis of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. No prognostic impact was found for the cyclins D1, D3, E, or A. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.