Abstract
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common lymphoid neoplasms, characterized by heterogeneity in the clinical, immunophenotypic, and genetic features. The proliferation and progression of neoplastic cells are known to be closely related to abnormalities in various positive and negative cell-cycle regulators. Skp2 positively regulates the G1-S transition by promoting degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27. Skp2 is frequently overexpressed in a variety of cancer cells and has been implicated in oncogenesis. In this study, we performed immunohistochemical analysis of the cell cycle-associated proteins, Skp2, p27, and Ki-67, in 33 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and evaluated the correlation between the clinicopathological characteristics and the expression levels of these proteins. In 33 patients, Skp2 expression was correlated with Ki-67. The patients also were classified into two groups according to the so-called “Hans classifier”: Germinal centre B-cell like (GCB) type and non-GCB type. Skp2 expression correlated with Ki-67 in the non-GCB type, but not in the GCB type. There was no significant correlation between Skp2 and p27, or p27 and Ki-67. It was suggested that Skp2 is a valuable marker for predicting proliferation of neoplastic cells in DLBCL.
