Clinical Significance Of The Expression Of Skp2, P27 And Ki67 In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Objective To explore the clinical significance of the expression of Skp2,P27 and Ki67 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.Methods The expression of Skp2,P27 and Ki67 in 60 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and 20 normal lymph nodes was analyzed by using immunohistochemical staining (EnVision). RT-PCR was carried out to detect the Skp2 and P27 mRNA levels in 12 patients with DLBCL, as well as in 12 normal lymph nodes. Meanwhile, the relationship between the expression of Skp2,P27 and Ki67 and the chemotherapy efficacy,survival rate and clinical features of DLBCL were also investigated.Results (1) Among 60 cases of DLBCL, the expression rates of Skp2 and Ki67 were 60% (36/60) and 63% (38/60), respectively. The rates were significantly higher than that of normal lymph nodes (P﹤0.01). The expression rate of P27 in DLBCL was 57% (34/60) which was lower than that of normal lymph nodes (P﹤0.01). (2) The expression level of Skp2 in DLBCL was inversely correlated with P27 and significantly correlated with Ki67. (3) The expression of Skp2 in DLBCL significantly correlated with Ann arbor stage, but not with the patients'age, gender and presence of extranodal diseases. While, the expression of P27 and Ki67 showed no significant correlation with the patients'age, gender, Ann arbor stage and presence of extranodal diseases. (4) The expression of Skp2 in DLBCL had significant relationship with chemotherapy efficacy. The patients with positive Skp2 expression had poorer chemotherapy efficacy than those with negative expression of Skp2. The expression of P27 and Ki67 did not correlate with chemotherapy efficacy. (5) The expression of Skp2 in DLBCL had significant relationship with overall survival. The Kaplan-Meier curve clearly demonstrated a worse overall survival in the high Skp2 expression group in comparison with that in the low Skp2 expression group. The expression of P27 and Ki67 did not correlate with overall survival. (6) As compared with normal controls, the expression level of Skp2 mRNA was upregulated in DLBCL patients, while that of P27 mRNA was not downregulated in DLBCL patients.Conclusion The high expression of Skp2 might not only play an important role in the development and progression of DLBCL, but also significantly correlate with its prognosis. Taken together,it was suggested that Skp2 could be a valuable index in predicting and improving the outcome of DLBCL.