Clinical significance of cyclin B1 protein expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

Purpose: Cyclin B1 plays an important role in control of the G(2)-M transit ion of the cell cycle. We have shown recently that overexpression of cyclin B1 is associated with poor outcome in patients with early stage squamous c ell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung. Experimental Design: To determine the role of cyclin B1 in SCC of the tongu e, we analyzed tumor specimens from 41 patients with stage II-IV SCC of the tongue who underwent curative surgery using immunohistochemistry. Results: The median follow-up of all patients was 83 months. Overexpression of cyclin B1 was observed in 15 (37%) of the 41 tumors, a similar frequenc y to that found in SCC of the lung. Patients whose tumors showed overexpres sion of cyclin B1 had a poor event-free survival compared with those lackin g this feature (P = 0.04 by Log-rank test). Multivariate analysis of tradit ional clinical/pathological factors showed that cyclin B1 overexpression wa s an independent prognostic indicator. Conclusions: Our study indicates that cyclin B1 is overexpressed in a subse t of SCC of the tongue and is associated with a more aggressive biological behavior of the disease.