Abstract: Objective  To investigate the clinical significance of sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9) in cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) patients. Methods  The expressions of SPAG9 mRNA and protein were evaluated in cervical carcinoma (cervical carcinoma group, n=40), CIN (CIN group, n=35) and normal cervical tissues (the control group, n=20) by immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and Western blotting. SPAG9 concentrations in serum samples from 10 healthy women, 20 women with hysteromyoma, 40 women with CIN, 40 women with cervical carcinoma, and 20 postoperative cervical carcinoma patients were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).  Results  ① The expression of SPAG9 was gradually increased in the control group, CIN group and cervical carcinomas group (all P<0.05); ② A significant difference has been found between cervical carcinoma group and the control group by RT-PCR and Western blotting (P<0.05); ③ SPAG9 serum concentrations in cervical carcinoma patients was significantly higher than those in the CIN and hysteromyoma patients and the healthy women (P<0.05). Furthermore, a significant decrease of SPAG9 level was detected after operation. Conclusion  SPAG9 is positively expressed in cervical carcinoma and CIN. A high humoral response against SPAG9 suggests its key role in early detection, clinical diagnosis and postoperative monitoring of cervical carcinoma and CIN patients.

Key words: Sperm-associated antigen 9, Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, Diagnosis, Cervical carcinoma