Expression of thymidine phosphorylase in human cervical cancer

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate whether the expression of thymidine phos phorylase (TP) by cervical cancer cells is cor-related with the density of microvessels within the tumor; histopathologic features, and prognosis. Met hods: Sections of 55 cervical cancers (30 of stage IB, 5 stage ILA, and,20 stage IIB) were analyzed for the cellular expression of TP and the intratum oral density of microvessels Dy immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antib odies to TP and Factor VIII related antigen, respectively. The main outcome measures were the histopathologic features (histologic type the maximum lo ngitudinal diameter of the tumor; depth and degree of cervical stromal inva sion, lymph-vascular space invasion, parametrial invasion, corpus invasion, vaginal invasion, and pelvic lymph node metastasis), whether or not the tu mor cells were TP positive or TP negative, the microvessel count and diseas e-free survival. Results: Twenty-nine tumors (52.7 %) were classified as TP -positive. The microvessel count (mean +/- SD, 45.6 +/- 12.8) in TP-positiv e tumors was significantly higher than that (mean +/- SD, 24.3 +/- 9.6) TP- negative tumors (P < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney U test). The disease-free surviva l of the patients with TP-positive tumors was significantly less than those with TP-negative tumors (P = 0.044 log-rank test). Multivariate analysis r evealed that pelvic lymph node metastasis was to be the only independent pr ognostic factor for disease-fr ee survival (P = 0.041). Moreover; disease-f ree survival in patients with TP-negative was longer than that in those wit h TP-positive in pelvic lymph node-negative subgroup, bur this did nor reac h significance (P = 0.247, log-rank test). Conclusions: Although the expres sion of TP is not an independent prognostic factor in cervical cancer, it i ndicates a significantly decreased disease-free survival in patients with T P-positive tumors. These findings provide a potential for new therapeutic i ntervention mediated by nature that TP inherits in cervical cancer.