Wnt5A expression is associated with the tumor metastasis and clinical survival in cervical cancer

Aims: To identify the clinical significance of Wnt5A expression in the development and progression of cervical cancer. Methods: Real-time PCR was performed in 8 pairs of surgically resected cervical cancer and adjacent normal cervical tissues. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine Wnt5A expression in 94 paraffin-embedded cervical cancer samples. Associatio ns of Wnt5A expression with clinicopathological factors and clinical survival were analyzed. Results: Wnt5A expression was overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal cervix. Wnt5A expression tended to be positively correlated with lymph nodes metastasis (P = 0.028) and recurrence (P = 0.009). Moreover, patients with higher Wnt5A expression in cancer tissues had better overall (P = 0.004) and recurrent-free survival (P = 0.012) than those with lower Wnt5A expression. Multivariate analysis revealed that Wnt5A was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.026) for predicting overall survival of cervical cancer patients. Conclusion: Upregulation of Wnt5A was associated with metastasis and progression of cervical cancer. The results of our study unravel the significance of Wnt/Ca2+ signaling in cervical cancer.