Molecular biological study on the overexpression of c-myc gene in uterine cervical carcinomas]

The expression of mRNA for c-myc gene was investigated in 30 cases of human uterine cervical carcinoma by Northern blot hybridization, and c-myc gene amplification was also examined by Slot blot hybridization. Overexpression of c-myc gene was detected in one (7.7%) of 13 cases of carcinoma in situ (stage 0), one (10.0%) of 10 stage I and 4 (57.1%) of 7 stage II uterine carcinoma, and c-myc gene amplification was detected in 2 cases (6.7%) in which c-myc gene overexpression was also found. The patient whose c-myc mRNA level was more than 10 times as high as in normal uterine cervical tissue relapsed and died within 2 years after the first treatment. Our results suggest that the overexpression of c-myc gene occurred more frequently in advanced than in early uterine cervical carcinoma and that it might be useful in prognosing cervical cancer.