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Prognostic Value of Intratumoral Interferon Gamma Messenger RNA Expression in Invasive Cervical Carcinomas

1998; Oxford University Press; Volume: 90; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/jnci/90.4.287

1460-2105

Éric Tartour, Alain Gey, Wolf H. Fridman, Xavier Sastre‐Garau, Isabelle Lombard Surin, Véronique Mosseri,

T-cell and Retrovirus Studies

Background: The production of the cytokine interferon gamma (IFN γ) by activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells may be reduced in patients with invasive cervical carcinoma. This study was designed to assess the prognostic value of intratumoral IFN γ messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in such patients. Methods: Biopsy specimens of primary cervical lesions were obtained from 27 patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma before they received any therapy. Two prognostic groups were considered: 1) a group of 14 patients who had no apparent disease recurrence and who were alive 2 years after diagnosis (good-prognosis group) and 2) a group of 13 patients who had disease recurrence or died during the 2-year follow-up (poor-prognosis group). A competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay was used to measure levels of IFN γ and β actin mRNA. The expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II proteins (which is stimulated by IFN γ) in tumor cells was studied by immunostaining. Results: Tumor specimens from all 14 patients in the good-prognosis group contained more than 103 IFN γ mRNA copies per 5 × 105 β actin mRNA copies, whereas tumor specimens from only six of the 13 patients in the poor-prognosis group contained this level of IFN γ mRNA (two-sided P = .006). No clear relationship was observed between levels of IFN γ mRNA and T-cell or natural killer cell infiltration in tumors; however, a statistically significant association was observed between HLA class II expression on tumor cells and IFN γ mRNA levels (two-sided P = .01). Conclusions: A subgroup of poor-prognosis cervical carcinoma patients who have low levels of intratumoral IFN γ mRNA was identified.