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Human telomerase RNA component (hTERC) gene expression and chromosome 7 ploidy correlate positively with histological grade of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
Author(s) -
Aggarwal Divya,
Wadhwa Neelam,
Arora Tanvi,
Rajaram Shalini,
Diwaker Preeti,
Halder Ashutosh,
Jain Manish,
Mishra Kiran
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1365-2303
pISSN - 0956-5507
DOI - 10.1111/cyt.12978
Subject(s) - cervical intraepithelial neoplasia , cytology , histology , carcinogenesis , cervical cancer , pathology , fluorescence in situ hybridization , telomerase , medicine , aneuploidy , biology , cancer , chromosome , gene , genetics
Objective Cervical cancer screening by primary human papilloma virus detection and cytology is fraught with low specificity and variable sensitivity, respectively. Cytology‐histology correlation remains modest. Biomarkers associated with early genetic events in cervical squamous carcinogenesis and detectable in cytology material are likely to be relevant. Human telomerase RNA component (hTERC) gene overexpression and aneuploidy are promising candidates in view of their reported early and consistent association with cervical squamous oncogenesis. Methods We analysed hTERC gene expression and chromosome 7 ploidy by fluorescent in‐situ hybridisation (FISH) in 50 women with cytological precursor squamous intraepithelial lesions and available histology outcomes. Results were expressed as percentages of cells showing ≥3 signals, mean signals/nucleus, and maximum amplitude across various cytology and histology categories. Proportions of positive cases were calculated from threshold values derived from 6 controls. Distribution of above indices with respect to ≥cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 (CIN2) was explored. Results For both genetic aberrations, there was significant positive correlation (for all indices) between the proportion of positive cases and worsening cytological and histological outcomes ( P < .05), with significant intergroup differences ( P < .05). High‐grade lesions (≥CIN2) had significantly higher results compared to