Background: Cyclin D1 has been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Patients and methods: FISH was performed on 58 patients. Thirty-two received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) as primary treatment and 21 with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPC) received chemoradiotherapy.
Results: CCND1 amplification was identified in 31 (53%) patients and the incidence was higher in HPC (p = 0.0068). Four (31%) out of 13 patients with CCND1 amplification responded to NAC whereas the response rate in the non-amplified group was 79% (p = 0.011). CCND1 amplification with a homogeneously staining region (HSR) was accompanied by cyclin D1 protein overexpression (p < 0.0001). HPC showed HSR more frequently (p = 0.033) and the survival rate of the subgroup with HSR was lower than that without (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Detection of CCND1 amplification using FISH may be a useful marker of sensitivity to NAC and chemoradiotherapy for HNSCC.