Prognoses in cases of uterine cervical
squamous cell carcinoma treated with
radiotherapy were investigated in association with immunohistochemical expression of an
angiogenic factor,
thymidine phosphorylase (TP). Forty-six cases of uterine cervical
squamous cell carcinoma mainly treated with
radiotherapy during 1992-2001 at our clinic were studied. All were diagnosed as stages IIB to IVA.
Paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens excised before
radiotherapy were stained immunohistochemically using anti-TP
monoclonal antibody. The extent of staining in both
tumor and interstitial cells was graded as (-), (+/-), (+), and (2+). Specimens with TP expression levels of (2+) and (+) were regarded as positively stained and those with TP expression levels of (+/-) and (-) as negatively stained. The efficacy of
radiotherapy in both groups was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. With
tumor cells, 5-year survival rates for the positive (n= 38) and negative (n= 8) staining groups were 73.9% and 42.9%, respectively; the rate being significantly higher for the TP-positive group (log rank, P= 0.0096). Contrarily, with staining for interstitial cells, the 5-year survival rates for the positive (n= 20) and negative (n= 26) staining groups were 74.1% and 64.6%, respectively, with no significant difference (log rank, P= 0.406). The efficacy of
radiotherapy in the group with positive staining of
tumor cells was significantly better than in the negative staining group. Immunohistochemical expression of TP in
tumor cells is suggested as a useful prognostic factor for uterine cervical
squamous cell carcinomas treated with
radiotherapy. Choosing
therapy for individual cases by referring to factors including TP expression should contribute to an improved prognosis.