Adenoid cystic carcinoma: Use of cell proliferation, bcl-2 expression, histologic grade, and clinical stage as predictors of clinical outcome

Background. Although the three basic histologic growth patterns of adenoid cystic carcinomas (tubular, cribriform, and solid) provide some indication of clinical outcome, additional, perhaps superior, predictors of biologic a ctivity are needed for patient management. Methods. This series is composed of 31 adenoid cystic carcinomas that prese nted in Linkoping between 1982 and 1997. The tumors were clinically staged and histologically graded. For each case, after immunohistochemical identif ication, the proportion of tumor cells expressing the cell cycle markers MI B-1 and bcl-2 (as an indicator of proliferation and apoptosis, respectively ) were quantified. Statistical correlation was sought between tumor stage a nd grade and the two cell cycle markers. Results. The proportions of cycling tumor cells in adenoid cystic carcinoma s ranged from 0.3% to 55%. For patients with no evidence of disease and a f ollow-up of at least 5 years, the mean percent MIB-1 value was significantl y lower than for those patients who were alive with local recurrence and/or metastasis or who had died from their adenoid cystic carcinoma (p =.024). MIB-1 tumor cell positivity also correlated strongly with turner grade (p = .053), but not with stage (p = .22). Neither clinical stage nor histologic grade correlated with the degree of bcl-2 tumor cell positivity (p = .97 a nd p = .49, respectively). Conclusions. Staging and grading continue to play a vital role in the manag ement of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma. Furthermore, in this serie s of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a cycling tumor cell populatio n as measured by the MIB-1 antibody greater than 10% indicates this group a s biologically more aggressive and at an increased risk for a fatal course. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.