Cdc20 and securin overexpression predict short-term breast cancer survival.
BACKGROUND
Cdc20 is an essential component of cell division and responsible for anaphase initiation regulated by securin degradation. Cdc20 function is strongly regulated by the spindle assembly checkpoint to ensure the timely separation of sister chromatids and integrity of the genome. We present the first results on Cdc20 in a large clinical breast cancer material.


METHODS
The study was based on 445 breast cancer patients with up to 20 years of follow-up (mean 10.0 years). DNA content was determined by image cytometry on cell imprints, and Cdc20 and securin immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays of breast cancer tissue.


RESULTS
In our results, high Cdc20 and securin expression was associated with aneuploid DNA content. In prognostic analyses, high Cdc20 immunoexpression alone and in combination with high securin immunoexpression indicated aggressive course of disease and up to 6.8-fold (P<0.001) risk of breast cancer death. Particularly, high Cdc20 and securin immunoexpression identified a patient subgroup with extremely short, on average 2.4 years, breast cancer survival and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype.


CONCLUSIONS
We report for the first time the association of high Cdc20 and securin immunoexpression with extremely poor outcome of breast cancer patients. Our experience indicates that Cdc20 and securin are promising candidates for clinical applications in breast cancer prognostication, especially in the challenging prognostic decisions of TNBC.
Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
H
H
Karra
Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
H
H
Repo
Department of Medical Statistics, Medical Faculty, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
I
I
Ahonen
Department of Medical Statistics, Medical Faculty, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
E
E
Löyttyniemi
Department of Pathology, Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland.
R
R
Pitkänen
Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
M
M
Lintunen
Department of Pathology, Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland.
T
T
Kuopio
Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
M
M
Söderström
Department of Pathology, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
P
P
Kronqvist
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D064199:Cdc20 Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D064249:Securin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*
D064199:Cdc20 Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D064249:Securin; C577488:CDC20 protein, human; D004247:DNA