Abstract: The invention relates to methods of determining a relative probability of survival for a subject with squamous cell carcinoma by obtaining a biological sample from a subject with squamous cell carcinoma; detecting a level of maspin gene expression in the biological sample; and comparing the level with a threshold level of maspin gene expression. A level of maspin gene expression in the biological sample above the threshold level indicates a relatively high probability of survival, or a level of maspin gene expression in the biological sample below the threshold level indicates a relatively low probability of survival.

Abstract: Cyclin D1 is one of the targets of &bgr;-catenin in breast cancer cells. Transactivation of &bgr;-catenin correlated significantly with cyclin D1 expression both in eight breast cell lines in vitro and in 123 patient samples. More importantly, high &bgr;-catenin activity significantly correlated with poor prognosis of the patients and is a strong and independent prognostic factor in breast cancer (p<0.001). Moreover, by multivariate analyses, the inventors found that activated &bgr;-catenin is a strong prognostic factor which provided additional and independent predictive information on patients survival rate even when other prognostic factors, including lymph node metastasis, tumor size, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status, were taken into account (p<0.001). This invention demonstrates that &bgr;-catenin is involved in breast cancer formation and/or progression and may serve as a target for breast cancer therapy.