Cyclin E overexpression as an independent risk factor of visceral relapse in breast cancer

Aim: Prognostic value of the cyclin E overexpression in breast cancer has not been clearly established, especially in relation to the pattern of recurrence. We investigated the implication of cyclin E overexpression for the pattern of recurrence in Korean breast cancer patients. Methods: Using immunohistochemical methods, we retrospectively examined the cyclin E expression level in breast cancer specimens from 128 women who underwent curative breast surgery, and correlated the levels of expression with the pattern of relapse in patients. Results: Cox model-based multivariate analysis indicated that distant relapse could be predicted by the number of positive axillary lymph nodes, high cyclin E expression, and the younger age (<35 years) of the patient. We tested further the association of cyclin E overexpression with the specific types of recurrence; multivariate analyses indicated that adjusted relative risks of bone and visceral relapse as the first events among high cyclin E group were 2.46 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86–7.02) (P=0.092), and 3.98 (95% CI, 1.23–12.94) (P=0.022), respectively. On the other hand, cyclin E overexpression was not associated with the risk of locoregional relapse. Conclusion: Our data suggest that cyclin E overexpression in primary breast carcinoma tissue could independently predict the risk of distant relapse, especially of visceral relapse, as the first failure after curative breast surgery.