Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences in the expression of tumor markers in squamous cell and in adenomatous carcinomas in pre- and postmenopausal women, respectively. Patients and Methods: The study population comprised 53 premenopausal and 107 postmenopausal women. Thirty-four tumors were adenomatous (n=31) or adenosquamous carcinomas (n=3), distributed between 13 premenopausal and 21 postmenopausal women. The remaining 126 squamous cell carcinomas were diagnosed in 40 pre- and 86 postmenopausal women. Expression of ten tumor markers of possible clinical importance in cervical cancer was evaluated. Results: Expression of three tumor markers, p53 (>0% vs. 0% ), p27 (≥20% vs. <20% ) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) (high intensity vs. moderate/none) differed significantly between pre- compared to postmenopausal women with squamous cell (p27; 54% vs. 72% , p=0.009) or adenomatous carcinomas (p53; 8% vs. 63% , p=0.006 and COX-2; 46% vs. 20% , p=0.03). All results were adjusted for clinical cancer stage. Conclusion: The unusual age-specific incidence curve in cervical cancer has rarely been related to expression of tumor markers. Age-related differences in expression of tumor markers could reflect some age-related different biological mechanisms in cervical cancer.
Footnotes
- Received January 23, 2008.
- Revision received March 18, 2008.
- Accepted March 24, 2008.
- Copyright© 2008 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved