Ulex Europaeus lectin and anti-CD31 staining in squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix: potential prognostic markers

Int J Gynecol Pathol. 1998 Jul;17(3):205-10. doi: 10.1097/00004347-199807000-00003.

Abstract

Seventy-five squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix and 10 controls were stained for Ulex Europaeus lectin 1 (UEA-1) and anti-CD31, and the results were analyzed with respect to patient age, clinical stage, tumor grade, and survival during a follow-up period of 1 to 13 years. The patients' mean age at the time of diagnosis was 47.8 years (range, 27 to 83). Seventeen patients died of disease, 2 had disease recurrence, and 51 patients remained free of disease; 5 patients were lost to follow-up. Twenty-eight cases (37.3%) showed focal membranous staining for UEA-1 and 9 cases (12%) showed a diffuse pattern; 38 cases (50.7%) were UEA-1 negative. Poor survival was related to diffuse membranous UEA-1 immunoreactivity (p = 0.02), age (p = 0.014), grade (p = 0.02), and stage (p = 0.0002). CD31-positive neoplastic cells displayed a cytoplasmic pattern. Fifteen cases (20%) had diffuse staining and another 15 (20%) stained focally; 45 cases (60%) were CD31-negative. The adjacent nonneoplastic epithelium and all 10 controls were uniformly negative for CD31. Variable staining of the endocervical epithelium and weak or negative staining of ectocervical epithelium for UEA-1 were observed. However, the epithelium in all controls was negative for UEA-1. Poor survival was related to both focal and diffuse staining for CD31 (p = 0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively). Staining by both UEA-1 and anti-CD31 retained its correlation with survival after exclusion of stage la tumors.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / chemistry
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / diagnosis*
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / mortality
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Histocytochemistry
  • Humans
  • Lectins / analysis*
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Plant Lectins*
  • Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / analysis*
  • Prognosis
  • Survival Rate
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / chemistry
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / mortality

Substances

  • Lectins
  • Plant Lectins
  • Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
  • Ulex europaeus lectins