침윤성 자궁 경부암 조직에서 C-erbB-2암유전자 단백의 함량 측정및 예후인자와의 관련성

Abstract

c-erbB-2 oncogene is a gene that encodes a growth factor receptor-like molecule with tyrosine kinase activity and has a structure similar to that of the epidermal growth factor receptor. The oncoprotein endoded by this gene is a 185-kilodalton transmembrane glycoprotein. Overexpression of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein is detected in human adenocarcinoma of the breast, ovary, and salivary gland, in which association between overexpression of the c-erbB-2 and poor prognosis of the disease has been reported. The role of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in the tumorigenesis of the uterine cervix has been poorly understood and controversial. In order to explore the relationship beteen c-erbB-2 oncoprotein status and cervical carcinoma, tissues were analyzed from 40 patients, each of whom had invasive cervical carcinoma prior to treatment, 10 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN) and 10 control cases who underwent hysterectomy due to benign gynecological disease at Yonsei University College of Medicine. We measured c-erbB-2 oncopretein with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) which was a sandwich type. Patients with invasive cervical cancer were found to have significantly higher median c-erbB-2 oncoprotein expression than patients with either the patients with CIN(P=0.02) or the control(P=0.001), respectively. However, there was no significant difference in c-erbB-2 oncoprotein status between CIN and the control groups. Overexpression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was found in 12 of 40(30%) invasive cervical cancers and in 1 of 10(10%) CIN patients. In invasive cervical cancer, no significant difference in c-erbB-2 oncoprotein levels was noted when stratified according to age, menopausal status, histological cell type, lesion size or clinical stage. Our results were consistent with the concept that c-erbB-2 oncoprotein may play an important role in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis in cervical cancer. But, further study based on larger numbers of cases with correlation to c-erbB-2 oncoprotein status and complete follow-up survival data will help to define the prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in patients with cervical carcinoma.