Versican expression is associated with tumor-infiltrating CD8-positive T cells and infiltration depth in cervical cancer

Cervical carcinoma is the second most frequent cancer type in women worldwide. Both inflammatory cells and stromal cells are important for tumor progression. Stromal cells produce growth factors and extracellular matrix and provide an adequate environment for angiogenesis. Versican, a member of the extracellular matrix, has been shown to have a role in tumor progression. The aim of this study was to investigate versican expression, and its association with tumor-infiltrating inflammatory cell subsets and with clinicopathological parameters in human cervical cancers. We have studied the expression of versican in 149 cervical cancers using immunohistochemistry and mRNA in situ hybridization. Versican was predominantly expressed in the stroma (myofibroblasts). Using quantitative real-time-PCR, V0 was found to be the most prominent isoform. High stromal versican expression was significantly associated with a low number of tumor-infiltrating T cells (P=0.018) and particularly a low number of CD8-positive T cells (cytotoxic T cells; P=0.002). Stromal versican expression was significantly higher in patients with an infiltration depth >14 mm (P=0.004) and in patients with parametrial invasion (P=0.044). Stromal versican expression was not associated with survival. Our results suggest that versican expression in the stromal compartment of cervical cancers results in reduced numbers of intraepithelial CD8-positive T cells and enhanced local invasion.