Objective: Cyclin D1 dysregulation has been found with varying frequencies in multiple myeloma (MM) and has been suggested to be associated with a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of cyclin D1 dysregulation in patients being treated for MM and to test whether cyclin D1 dysregulation is a prognostic factor for MM patients.
Methods: To achieve the above aims we designed a highly sensitive and reproducible real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for quantitation of cyclin D1 mRNA. Using this assay, 110 diagnostic bone marrow (BM) samples from patients with MM were screened for cyclin D1 dysfunction.
Results: The real-time assay was able to detect the presence of 0.01% cyclin D1 positive cells allowing a safe detection in MM BM samples. In 42% (46/110) of MM BM samples a greater-than-or-equals 3-fold increase in cyclin D1 mRNA was observed compared to the cyclin D1 level in normal BM. In the remaining group of MM patients the cyclin D1 mRNA levels were comparable to normal donors. Follow-up of 76 MM patients showed no significant (P = 0.35) difference in survival between cyclin D1 positive and negative MM patients. In addition, cyclin D1 dysregulation did not correlate with known prognostic factors.
Conclusion: The developed real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of cyclin D1 mRNA levels offers a fast and safe screening for cyclin D1 dysfunction. When a large cohort of MM patients was screened, the cyclin D1 gene was found to be frequently dysregulated, but there was no significant correlation to survival or known prognostic parameters.