Cyclin D1 protein expression in lung cancer

Cyclin D1, a G1 cyclin, has been implicated in the oncogenesis of various types of malignancies via deregulation of cell cycles. Amplification of cyclin D1 as a part of 11q13 amplicon has been reported in lung cancer as well as a subset of carcinomas arising from various organs including breast, head and neck, and esophagus. In addition to its role as an oncogene, several recent studies have suggested that amplification is indicative of poor prognosis. In this study we examined the cyclin D1 protein expression in 102 consecutive cases of lung cancers using the microwave enhanced immunohistochemical staining method and correlated the data with the histologic subtype and grade, Ki-67 (MIB-1) labeling index, and survival. Nuclear positive staining was observed in 18 cases (18 %) of lung cancers. Although squamous cell carcinoma demonstrated a higher rate of expression (12 /58, 21%), three of 33 adenocarcinomas (9%) revealed overexpression and both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma components within the adenosquamous carcinoma showed nuclear staining. There was no correlation between cyclin D1 overexpression and histologic grade, Ki-67 (MIB-1) labeling index, and survival. These observations indicate that cyclin D1 protein overexpression might be implicated in the oncogenesis of the various histologic types of non-small cell lung carcinomas but it has no usefulness as a prognostic marker.