Expression of Cyclin D1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its correlation with histopathological differentiation

Background: Cyclin D1 is a vital protein that has a widespread role in cell cycle regulations, providing control over G1 to S Phase transition and governing cell proliferation rates.CyclinD1 overexpression has been reported in variety of tumors. Present study was carried out to the study the expression of cyclinD1 and its association with histopathological differentiation and stage of oral squamous cell carcinoma.  Materials and Methods: 48 formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks of biopsy specimens of oral squamous cell carcinoma were immunohistochemically evaluated for expression of cyclinD1. Result: CyclinD1 expression was seen in 98.5% (46) cases of OSCC. It did not correlate with site and staging. CyclinD1 expression was seen in 94.6% of well differentiated tumor,100% in moderately differentiated and 100% in poorly differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma, but it was not statistically significant(p=0.065). Conclusion: Relatively higher frequency of Cyclin D1 immuno-reactivity observed in patients with less differentiated tumours suggest inverse correlation of Cyclin D1 expression with histological differentiation of tumour. Keywords: Cyclin D1, Grade, Stage, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.