Detecting cytokeratin 19 mRNA in the peripheral blood cells of cervical cancer patients and its clinical-pathological correlation.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to study the presence of cytokeratin 19 (CK19)-expressing cancer cells in the blood of preoperative patients with FIGO stage Ib and IIb cervical cancers who received radical hysterectomy and to investigate the cells' clinical significance.


METHODS
CK19 mRNA in the blood cells of the patients was detected preoperatively by a newly designed nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, which excluded pseudogenes a and b, performed on 84 patients with stage Ib and IIb cervical carcinoma. Possible correlations between clinicopathological factors were then analyzed.


RESULTS
The sensitivity of this assay was 1 CK19-mRNA-positive cell per 10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Results showed that 21.4% of the 84 patients with cervical carcinoma had CK19-mRNA-positive cells in the blood, in comparison with 5.7% of the 35 patients with benign gynecological tumors and 0% of the 28 healthy controls (P = 0.037 and 0.006, respectively). The positive tests in the cervical cancer patients were not associated with prognostic factors including stage, pelvic lymph node metastasis, pathological types, bulky tumor size (> or =4 cm), differentiation, parametrial extension, lymphovascular space involvement, deep stromal invasion, or age.


CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed the presence of circulating CK19-expressing cancer cells in the blood of patients with untreated early-stage cervical carcinomas, indicating that cervical cancer disseminated early. The survival effect of this phenomenon must be clarified. This detection assay provides an early checkpoint in the multistep process for developing metastasis in cervical cancer patients.
Yuan
Chiou-Chung
CC
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, 112, Taiwan. ccyuan@vghtpe.gov.tw
Wang
Peng-Hui
PH
Ng
Heung-Tat
HT
Li
Ywan-Feng
YF
Huang
Tze-Sing
TS
Chen
Ching-Yi
CY
Tsai
Lai-Chen
LC
Shyong
Wen-Yuann
WY
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007633:Keratins