Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the correlation of ezrin and galectin-3 expressions with prognosis in cervical cancer. The immunohistochemical method was applied to detect ezrin and galectin-3 expressions in normal cervix tissues (n=30), cervicitis tissues (n=28), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) tissues (classified as I-III, n=89), and cervical carcinoma tissues (n=84). Follow-up was conducted for 5 to 78 months to analyze the correlation of protein expressions with prognosis. Ezrin and galectin-3 expressions in cervical cancer were significantly higher than in normal cervix, cervicitis and CIN (all P<0.05), and expressions in CIN were significantly higher than in normal cervix and cervicitis (both P<0.05). The expressions of ezrin and galectin-3 were both related with histological grade, deep myometrial invasion and lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05). Spearman analysis showed that ezrin expression was positively correlated with galectin-3 expression in cervical cancer (r=0.355, P<0.05). The survival rate of patients with high expressions of ezrin and galectin-3 was significantly lower than those with low expressions of proteins (both P<0.05). The expressions of ezrin and galectin-3, histological grade, depth of stromal invasion, and lymph node metastasis are risk factors affecting the survival rate of patients with cervical cancer. The expressions of ezrin and galectin-3 were correlated with the development of cervical cancer, and overexpressions of those proteins were indicative of poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in women worldwide, second to breast cancer, accounting for around 13% of both total cancer cases and total cancer deaths in women [1]
Comparison of ezrin and galectin-3 expressions The positive ezrin and galectin-3 protein expression indicated that cytoplasm was stained brown (Figure 1 and Table 2)
The positive protein expression rates in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and CIN grade I, II, and III and in cervical cancer were significantly higher than normal cervix group
Summary
Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in women worldwide, second to breast cancer, accounting for around 13% of both total cancer cases and total cancer deaths in women [1]. Studies have shown that there are more than 500,000 patients with cervical cancer, of which almost 80% are in the developing countries [2,3]. A low 5-year survival rate was reported for patients with cervical cancer, especially in Indians, who are responsible for 26.5% of the global burden, and cervical cancer shows a decreasing trend in the onset age worldwide [4]. Cervical cancer is difficult to diagnose due to subtle and nonspecific initial symptoms in early stage. Vaginal bleeding, vaginal discharge, abdominal pain and other symptoms may occur as the disease progresses [4]. Surgery and radiotherapy are the two commonly used treatment methods for cervical cancer, treatment for patients with advanced cervical cancer is not satisfactory. With the development of molecular biology, increasing research is attempting to find new effective targets in biomolecular aspects [6,7]
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