Abstract:

Objective   To investigate expression and clinical significance of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Methods   Expression of PEDF, micro-vessel density(MVD) labeled by CD34 and proliferation index of cancer cells labeled by Ki-67 were detected in 50 cases of early invasive carcinoma of cervix(ICC),18 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasm(CIN) and 35 cases of normal cervical epithelium(NCE) with the PV-9000 immunohistochemical method. Results   Positive expression rates of PEDF in NCE, CIN and ICC were 100%, 77.78% and 48.00% respectively. There was a significant relationship between lower expression of PEDF and pelvic lymph node metastasis or intravascular involvement(P＜0.05), but no relationship with the patients age, FIGO stage, tumor size and degree of tumor differentiation(P＞0.05). PEDF was negatively correlated with MVD (P＜0.01， r=-0.6424) and Ki67(P＜0.01， r=-0.4016). Conclusion   In cervix squamous cell carcinoma, lower expression of PEDF may play an important role in tumor angiogenesis, proliferation of cancer cells, cancer invasion and metastasis.

Key words: Cervical cancer; Pigment epithelium derivative factor; Microvessel density; Proliferation index