PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN EXPRESSION AND THE PROGRESSION OF CERVICAL INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA

Cell proliferation is an important biological aspect of a tumor cell p opulation which can affect clinical outcome. In addition to other well established clinical and histopathological prognostic criteria? cell kinetic data have significant predictive value. This study evaluates t he proliferative activity of benign, premalignant and malignant cervic al tissue by analyzing the expression of the proliferating cell nuclea r antigen (PCNA). PCNA is a 36 kD nuclear protein associated with the cell cycle and is directly involved in DNA synthesis during cell proli feration. A total of 122 subjects were included in the study. This inc luded 30 benign tissue samples, 30 low grade lesions (CIN 1), 30 high grade lesions (CIN 2/3) and 32 invasive squamous carcinomas. There was significant difference in PCNA index between benign and high grade le sions as well as benign and invasive cancer. The percentage of PCNA po sitive cells were significantly higher in invasive carcinoma when comp ared with non malignant lesions. Moreover, there was also good correla tion between increasing histological abnormality and PCNA expression. These results suggest that cell proliferation index as detected by PCN A expression may be useful in the evaluation of alterations in cell ki netics of various grades of cervical lesions. Such data could also pos sibly help explain the biological behaviour of these lesions and be us eful in planning of radiotherapy for invasive cervical cancer.