MCM3 as a Novel Diagnostic Marker in Benign and Malignant Salivary Gland Tumors

Background: Proliferation markers widely have been used to diagnose and determine the behaviour andprognosis of benign and malignant tumours. Minichromosome maintenance 3 (MCM3) is a novel proliferationmarker. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare MCM3 with Ki-67 in diagnosis of salivary glandtumours. Materials and
Methods: In this retrospective study, immunohistochemical expression of MCM3 andKi-67 was evaluated in 15 pleomorphic adenomas (PA), 17 mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) and 18 adenoidcystic carcinomas (ADCC) . Labeling indices (LIs) for the two markers were calculated and compared.
Results:MCM3 and Ki-67 LIs were significantly higher in MEC and ADCC compared to PA. The LI of MCM3 wassignificantly higher than that of Ki-67 in MEC and PA. There was no significant difference between the twomarkers in ADCC. A cut–off point of 8% with 74.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity for MCM3 was obtained todiscern between benign and malignant tumors.
Conclusions: These results suggest that MCM3 might be a usefulproliferation marker for differential diagnosis and recognition of clinical behavior of salivary gland tumors.