Correlation between reduced expression of the spindle checkpoint protein BubR1 and bad prognosis in tonsillar carcinomas.

BACKGROUND

Spindle checkpoint proteins such as Mad2 and BubR1 are important for chromosome segregation during mitosis. The aim of the present study was to examine their possible impact on prognosis in tonsillar carcinomas and their relation to clinical variables, the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV), p53 status, and Ki-67 positivity.

METHODS

We examined the expression of Mad2 and BubR1 by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays from 105 patients with tonsillar carcinomas.

RESULTS

BubR1 and Mad2 were both expressed in tonsillar carcinomas. Expression of BubR1 was a significant prognostic factor in univariate survival analysis. In multivariate analyses, BubR1 was a significant prognostic factor together with stage, age, and HPV status p < .01), whereas Mad2 did not show any significant correlations.

CONCLUSION

We have shown that BubR1 expression is a novel and strong prognostic factor in tonsillar carcinomas, giving additional information to the TNM stage and other known prognostic factors.