Expression of 14-3-3 protein in the cervical cancer patients and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the potential roles of 14-3-3 in the pathogenesis of the cervical cancer. Methods Tissues from 107 patients with cervical cancer(cervical cancer group), 50 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia group) and 50 cases of chronic cervicitis (chronic cervicitis group) were obtained.Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the expression of 14-3-3 protein in tissues of the three groups. Results The positive rate of 14-3-3 in cervical cancer group(75.70%) was significantly higher than that in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia group and chronic cervicitis group(42.00%, 30.00%, respectively)(χ2=17.00, 29.96, all P 0.05). Moreover, in the cervical cancer group, the positive rate of 14-3-3 in lymph node metastasis group was 88.89%, which was higher than that in negative lymph node metastasis group (63.16%)(χ2=5.15, P<0.05). Conclusion The expression level of 14-3-3 protein in cervical cancer is increased, it may be correlated with cervical cancer cell malignant differentiation and metastasis.Perhaps, 14-3-3 will play a key role as a novel target for tumor therapy. Key words: Uterine cervical neoplasms; CCN intercellular signaling proteins; Immunohistochemistry