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Elevation of cyclooxygenase-2 is related to lymph node metastasis in adenocarcinoma of uterine cervix

2005; Elsevier BV; Volume: 237; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.canlet.2005.06.027

1872-7980

Sokbom Kang, Moon Hong Kim, In Ae Park, Jae‐Weon Kim, Noh Hyun Park, Daehee Kang, Keun‐Young Yoo, Soon Beom Kang, Hyo Pyo Lee, Yong Sang Song,

Endometriosis Research and Treatment

In a previous study, we demonstrated that elevation of COX-2 is significantly associated with lymph node metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of cervix. The main objective of this study is to characterize the relationship between elevation of COX-2 and its possible clinical role in adenocarcinoma (AC) of cervix. Using immunohistochemistry, we examined COX-2 expression levels in 84 patients with AC of uterine cervix [71 ACs, 13 adenosquamous carcinomas (ASCs)]. Elevation of COX-2 was correlated with clinicopathological variables and p53 expression, as detected by immunohistochemistry. Elevation of COX-2 was detected in 13.0% (11 of 84) of the tumors. Elevation of COX-2 was significantly correlated with histologic type (AC 8.5% vs. ASC 38.5%, P=0.011). Both tumor stage and lymph node metastasis were correlated with elevation of COX-2 with a borderline significance (P=0.062 and 0.068, respectively). Elevation of p53 was not associated with elevation of COX-2. The association between lymph node metastasis and elevation of COX-2 was stronger in cases of AC than in cases of ASC (28.4 vs. 4.3%, P=0.023). According to the results of univariate analysis, elevation of COX-2 was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (P=0.003, log-rank test). However, multivariate analyses revealed that only tumor stage was independently associated with overall survival, suggesting that elevation of COX-2 itself may not be an independent prognostic factor. The present study shows that elevation of COX-2 may contribute to lymph node metastasis in AC of uterine cervix. This suggests that the potential therapeutic role of COX-2 inhibitors should be validated, not only in SCC, but also in AC of uterine cervix.