Expression of ras Oncogene Product and EGF Receptor in Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinomas and Its Relationship to Lymph Node Involvement

Abstract The expression of ras oncogene product p21 and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor was studied immunohistochemically in tissues obtained from 52 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. We examined the relationship between p21 and EGF receptor expression and lymph node matastasis in cervical cancer. The data deomosntrate that the patients with positive staining for ras p21 in cervical carcinomas have a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis than the patients with negative staining for p21 ( P = 0.027). Although the levels of p21 expression in the metastatic sites were reduced compared to those in the primary sites, tumor cells in metastatic lymph nodes also expressed p21. No relationship was found between EGF receptor expression and lymph node metastasis. These results suggest that expression of ras oncogene product may be associated with the biological aggressiveness of cervical carcinomas.