Immunohistochemical study of cell cycle-associated proteins in adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix treated with radiotherapy alone: P53 status has a strong impact on prognosis

PURPOSE: Because the incidence of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix has recently risen, the evaluation of radiotherapy (RT) for this disease has become an increasingly urgent matter. We analyzed the expression of the cell cycle-associated proteins p53, p27, p21/waf1/cip1, and cyclin D1 in cervical adenocarcinomas in correlation with the prognostic significance in tumors treated with RT alone. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The expression of p53, p27, p21/waf1/cip1, and cyclin D1 was studied using an immunohistochemical method in 53 cases of cervical adenocarcinoma treated only with RT. Patients received RT alone between 1965 and 1994. The mean patient age was 61.8 +/- 12.6 years (range, 36-82 years). The number of patients with Stage I, II, III, and IVA disease was 6, 16, 28, and 3, respectively. RESULTS: The number of patients with p53, p27, p21/waf1/cip1, and cyclin D1 positive tumors was 24, 18, 22, and 8, respectively; no statistically significant correlation was noted. The 5-year disease-free survival rate of p53-positive patients was 30%, significantly lower than the 62% for the p53-negative patients (p = 0.02); no statistically significant correlation was noted between disease-free survival and p27, p21/waf1/cip1, and cyclin D1 expression. No statistically significant correlation was observed between local control and expression of any of the proteins. CONCLUSION: Expression of p53 protein has a statistically significant impact on disease-free survival in adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix treated with RT alone. However, the clinical significance of p27, p21/waf1/cip1, and cyclin D1 protein expression was not obvious.