Cdc20 and securin overexpression predict short-term breast cancer survival

BACKGROUND: Cdc20 is an essential component of cell division and responsible for anaphase initiation regulated by securin degradation. Cdc20 function is strongly regulated by the spindle assembly checkpoint to ensure the timely separation of sister chromatids and integrity of the genome. We present the first results on Cdc20 in a large clinical breast cancer material. METHODS: The study was based on 445 breast cancer patients with up to 20 years of follow-up (mean 10.0 years). DNA content was determined by image cytometry on cell imprints, and Cdc20 and securin immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays of breast cancer tissue. RESULTS: In our results, high Cdc20 and securin expression was associated with aneuploid DNA content. In prognostic analyses, high Cdc20 immunoexpression alone and in combination with high securin immunoexpression indicated aggressive course of disease and up to 6.8-fold (P<0.001) risk of breast cancer death. Particularly, high Cdc20 and securin immunoexpression identified a patient subgroup with extremely short, on average 2.4 years, breast cancer survival and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. CONCLUSIONS: We report for the first time the association of high Cdc20 and securin immunoexpression with extremely poor outcome of breast cancer patients. Our experience indicates that Cdc20 and securin are promising candidates for clinical applications in breast cancer prognostication, especially in the challenging prognostic decisions of TNBC.