Abstract
Objective: To examine the predictive value of FGF2 in expression for disease failure after chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancers.
Patients and methods: The subjects were 28 patients with cervical cancers. A punch biopsy before treatment (pre) and a second biopsy from the same site of the cervix (mid) were taken one week after the start of therapy, when patients had received 9 Gy of whole pelvic irradiation and a single dose of CDDP, and branchytherapy had not begun. In addition to FGF2, as recent reports proposed a close relationship among FGF2, laminin, and CD44, expression of CD44, and laminin was also analyzed using a streptavidin-biotin immunoperoaidase technique. Positive area proportion (%) of FGF2 and CD44 were analyzed using an image analysis system, and laminin staining pattern was scored by continuity of the basement membrane immunopositivity. Patients were defined as good (n =18) or poor responders (n =10) based on their two-year disease-free survival. Result: Protein expression of FGF2 in midtreatment samples (mid) was significantly higher than in pretreatment samples (pre) (P = 0.030). The ratio change (mid versus pre) of FGF2 expression in poor responders was significantly lower than that in good responders (P = 0.037). The number of cases with discontinuity of laminin staining pattern at pre was significantly increased in the poor responders (P = 0.046). Protein expression of CD44 was not significantly changed between good responders and poor responders. An association was found between laminin staining pattern in pre and ratio change of FGF2 or CD44 expression in mid (P = 0.026 and P = 0.036, respectively).
Conclusion: We found that FGF2 ratio change and laminin staining pattern at pre were significantly associated with prognosis. These molecular features might help us to identify patients at high risk of disease failure after CRT.
