[Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis (proliferating cel nuclear antigen) of patients with invasive cervical carcinoma before and after radiotherapy and surgery].
OBJECTIVE
To search for residual disease and to analyse the Proliferating Cellular Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) status, in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, treated with both radiotherapy and surgery.


METHODS
Histological slides from 16 patients with uterine cervix cancer, treated between April 1986 and August 1998, with preoperative radiotherapy and surgery, were reviewed. PCNA immunohistochemical reactivity of these samples was evaluated, using the IMAGELAB 2.3 computer image analysis system.


RESULTS
Residual carcinoma were found in eight cases (50%) and no malignant features was found in eight cases (50%). The mean value of PCNA before radiotherapy in patients with residual cancer was 61.56% and in cases without residual cancer was 60%. Its expression before radiotherapy was between 27.91% and 89.93% (60% average), while after radiotherapy it varied between 55.80% and 86.73% (74% average).


CONCLUSIONS
The association between preoperative radiotherapy followed by surgery is adequate to treat patients with cervical cancer, when radical treatment is not possible. Meanwhile, exclusive radiotherapy shows a significant failure rate, detected after surgery and PCNA analysis.
Setor de Oncocirurgia da Disciplina de Ginecologia da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP), São Paulo-SP.
Marta Alves
MA
Rosal
Wagner José
WJ
Gonçalves
Maria Teresa de S
MT
Alves
Edmund Chada
EC
Baracat
Geraldo Rodrigues
GR
de Lima
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery
D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen