Abstract

To evaluate the expression of nm23-H1 protein in normal, precancerous, and cancerous tissues of the uterine cervix and its role in cervical carcinogenesis, metastasis and recurrence, 82 cervical specimens, including 30 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), 19 high- and 13 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs and LSILs) and 20 normal samples, were stained using immunohistochemical method with streptavidin-biotin peroxidase immunostaining. The Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, as well as Chi-square test for trend, were used for comparing nm23-H1 expression among normal, LSIL, HSIL, and cancerous tissues. The correlation of nm23 expression with metastasis or recurrence was analyzed using Fisher's exact test. There were significant differences in levels of nm23-H1 expression between LSIL and HSIL (P = 0.016) and between LSIL and SCC (P = 0.004), but not between HSIL and SCC or normal and LSIL samples. Furthermore, a positive relationship was demonstrated for high nm23-H1 protein expression and degree of malignant transformation (P < 0.05). Among the 30 SCC cases, high nm23-H1 expression did not show significant association with either carcinomatous metastasis or recurrence (P = 0.123, 0.372, respectively). High nm23-H1 expression appears related to critical progression of LSIL to HSIL but not to metastasis or recurrence of SCC.