Prognostic evaluation value and changes of serum connective tissue growth factor before and after operation in cervical cancer patients

Abstract

Objective To explore the changes of serum connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) level before and after operation in cervical cancer patients and the clinical prognostic evaluation value. Methods A total of 48 patients with cervical cancer, 30 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 20 healthy controls were selected as the research object from January 2013 to December 2015. The level of serum CTGF was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The relationship between serum CTGF level and clinical pathological features and prognosis of cervical cancer were analyzed. Results The level of serum CTGF in cervical cancer patients before operation was significantly higher than those in patients with CIN and healthy controls (all P<0.01). The level of serum CTGF in cervical cancer patients after operation was significantly higher than that before operation (P<0.01). The level of serum CTGF in cervical cancer patients before operation was closely related to tumor size, FIGO stage, and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). According to the postoperative CTGF median value, cervical cancer patients were divided into low CTGF group (<17.6 ng/ml) and high CTGF group (≥17.6 ng/ml); Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the survival time of high CTGF group was longer than that of low CTGF group (χ2=4.036, P=0.045). COX regression model showed that FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, and the low level of postoperative serum CTGF (<17.60 ng/ml) were major influencing factors of the prognosis of cervical cancer. Conclusions The level of serum CTGF in cervical cancer patients decreased obviously, which was closely related to invasion and metastasis of cancer. It is valuable to detect postoperative changes of serum CTGF for judging the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. Key words: Cervical cancer; Connective tissue growth factor; Prognosis