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Head-to-head comparison of the impact of Aurora A, Aurora B, Repp86, CDK1, CDK2 and Ki67 expression in two of the most relevant gynaecological tumor entities

  • Gynecologic Oncology
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Abstract

Purpose

The dysregulation of cell cycle kinases plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and the expression of various kinases has been attributed to aggressive tumor growth and an unfavourable prognosis in oncological patients. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the expression of Ki67 among five additional cell cycle kinases in a collective of mammary and ovarian tumor specimens and to find a correlation with clinicopathological parameters.

Methods

76 mammary and 93 ovarian benign and malignant tumor samples were immunohistochemically stained and evaluated for the expression of Aurora A and B, Repp86, CDK1 and 2 (only breast specimens) and Ki67. The expression patterns of these cell cycle kinases were matched with retrospectively collected clinicopathological parameters.

Results

All examined cell cycle kinases accurately discriminated benign from malignant breast and ovarian tissues. In breast cancer, Aurora A and B-, Repp86-, CDK2- and Ki67-expression was inversely associated with ER expression. No correlation with the HER2-status was found in our collective. Importantly, we found a significant correlation between the expression of Aurora A and CDK1 and axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer. Furthermore, a shortened disease free survival (DFS) upon expression of Aurora B and CDK2 was shown in breast cancer patients. None of the cell cycle kinases was associated with predictive or prognostic factors in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Conclusion

The prognostic value of the expression of Ki67 is overtrumped by alternative cell cycle kinases when it comes to prediction of axillary tumor spread and a shortened DFS, which might allow a further risk stratification in breast cancer patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, Haus 24, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Thorsten Heilmann, Linda Dittmann, Marion van Mackelenbergh, Christoph Mundhenke, Jörg Weimer, Norbert Arnold, Nicolai Maass & Christian Schem

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  1. Thorsten Heilmann
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  2. Linda Dittmann
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Correspondence to Thorsten Heilmann.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Heilmann, T., Dittmann, L., van Mackelenbergh, M. et al. Head-to-head comparison of the impact of Aurora A, Aurora B, Repp86, CDK1, CDK2 and Ki67 expression in two of the most relevant gynaecological tumor entities. Arch Gynecol Obstet 294, 813–823 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4104-z

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