Open AccessDetection of cell apoptosis in pelvic lymph nodes of patients with cervical cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Author(s) -
Haiyan Zhang,
Wei Peng,
Zhang Yang-de
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of international medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1473-2300
pISSN - 0300-0605
DOI - 10.1177/0300060513506328
Subject(s) - medicine , cervical cancer , chemotherapy , metastasis , apoptosis , cisplatin , lymph node , immunostaining , immunohistochemistry , terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase , oncology , lymph , pathology , urology , cancer , tunel assay , biology , biochemistry
Objective To investigate if the administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) reduces pelvic lymph node metastasis by inducing tumour cell apoptosis in patients with cervical cancer.Methods This study enrolled patients with stage Ib 2 –IIb cervical cancer who underwent surgery with (NACT group) or without (control group) prior cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Immunohistochemical staining of caspase-3 and an in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling assay were used to measure the levels of apoptosis in primary tumours and pelvic lymph nodes.Results A total of 185 patients participated in the study: 102 in the NACT group and 83 in the control group. Treatment was considered to be clinically effective in 69.6% (71/102) of the NACT group. The rate of metastasis in the NACT group (20.6%; 21/102) was significantly lower than the control group (42.2%; 35/83). The level of caspase-3 immunostaining and the rate of apoptosis in primary tumours and pelvic lymph nodes in the NACT group were significantly higher than in the control group.Conclusions NACT appeared to limit pelvic node metastasis by inducing tumour cell apoptosis in patients with cervical cancer.