Expression of RASSF1A mRNA and its relationship with HPV-16 in cervical cancer

Abstract

To study the expression of RASSF1A mRNA and its relationship with HPV-16 in cervical cancer. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of RASSF1A mRNA in 56 patients with cervical cancer, 36 patients with CIN and 20 patients with normal cervix. HPV-16 DNA was also examined by PCR in 56 patients with cervical cancer. The rates of loss of RASSF1A mRNA expression were 0% (0/20), 22.2% (8/36) and 50.0% (28/56) in patients with normal cervix, CIN and cervical cancer respectively. The loss rate of RASSF1A mRNA in the cervical tissues at the advanced stages (stages III-IV, 82.4%) was higher than that at the early stages (stages I-II, 35.9%, P < 0.05). RASSF1A mRNA deletion occurred more often in the tissues of squamous cervical cancers (63.3%) than in those of adenocarcinoma (34.6%) (P < 0.05). The loss rate of the poor differentiation group was 70.8%, significantly higher than that of the middle and high differentiation group (37.5%, P < 0.05). The loss of RASSF1A was negatively related with HPV-16 infection in cervical cancers, especially in adenocarcinoma (P < 0.905). Loss of RASSF1A may play an important role in tumorgenesis and development of cervical cancer.