The relationship between the expression of CD44v6 protein and prognosis factors in human carcinoma of cervix

Objective: To study the expression of CD44v6 protein in the dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, invasive squamocellular carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of cervix uteri, and the relationship between the expression and the prognosis. Methods: The method of immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of CD44v6 protein in the cases, including 10 normal cervix, 15 dysplasia, 16 squamocellular carcinoma in situ , 1 adenocarcinoma in situ , 27 invasive squamocellular carcinoma, and 15 invasive adenocarcinoma of cervix uteri, The results were analyzed semi quantitatively with scanning system. And the data were analyzed statistically. Results: (1) The staining reaction of CD44v6 protein was mainly confined to the cellular membrane. (2) Normal epithelial, cervical dysplasia, squamocellular cervical carcinoma in situ and invasive squamocellular carcinoma showed expression of CD44v6 in 1/10, 7/15, 7/16 and 20/27. (3) In the positive cases of pelvic lymphonodes metastasis in invasive squamocellular carcinoma of cervix, the staining reaction of CD44v6 was stronger than that in the negative cases of metastasis in the same disease ( P =0.006). There is no relationship between the expression of CD44v6 and the FIGO stage and carcinoma cellular grade in this study. Conclusion: The degree of staining reaction of CD44v6 increased in the order of normal cervix, Cervical Intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive squamocellular carcinoma of cervix; There is really the relationship between the staining reaction of CD44v6 and pelvic lymphonodes metastasis in invasive squamocellular carcinoma; There is perhaps the relationship between the staining reaction of CD44v6 and poor prognosis of cervix adenocarcinoma, but the degree of this relationship should be studied again in more cases. (J Beijing Med Univ, 2000,32:155 157)