Significance of Cyclin D1 Immunoexpression in Breast Carcinoma

Author(s): Dr. Mst Nazneen Nahar Rina, Prof. Dr. Naba Kumar Saha, Dr. Mostafa Kamal

Background: Cyclin D1 plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and the regulation of the G1/S transition in the cell cycle. Overexpression of cyclin D1 in breast carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to conventional hormone therapy. Objectives: To assess the immunoexpression of cyclin D1 in breast carcinoma and to study the association between cyclin D1 immunoexpression with clinicopathological parameters such as age, tumor size, histomorphological types and grades, lymphovascular invasion and ER status. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional observational study conducted at the Department of Pathology, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet, during the period from March 2019 to February 2021. Twenty-three female patients were selected who underwent surgery, and forty-nine paraffin blocks from the growth of the breast were collected. The resected specimens were processed, and paraffin blocks were made. Then, sections from all blocks were stained with routine H&E stain to see the histologic type and grade of the tumor. The immunostaining of cyclin D1 and ER was done from paraffin blocks. Results: In this study, 72 cases of invasive breast carcinoma were taken. The mean age of the patients was 50.06 (SD ± 10.25) years. The mean tumor size was 4.18 (SD ± 1.80) cm. Thirty-three (45.8%) cases belonged to grade III, 25 (34.7%) cases to grade II, and 14 (19.4%) cases to grade I. Lymphovascular invasion was found in 43 (59.7%) cases. Cyclin D1 was found to be strong positive in 7 (9.7%) cases, moderate positive in 24 (33.3%) cases, weak positive in 14 (19.4%) cases and negative in 27 (37.5%) cases. Estrogen receptor (ER) was positive in 33 (45.8%) cases and negative in 39 (54.2%) cases. There was a statistically significant association between tumor grade and cyclin D1 (p=0.046). There was a statistically significant association between tumor grade and cyclin D1 scoring (p=0.017). The association between cyclin D1 and estrogen receptor was also statistically significant (P=0.009). Conclusion: The association of cyclin D1 immunoexpression with tumor grade and ER expression was statistically significant. Thus, cyclin D1 can be used as a prognostic marker and marker for resistance to hormone therapy, thereby dictating appropriate treatment modalities in patients with breast carcinoma.