DETECTION OF SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA ANTIGEN-EXPRESSING TUMOR-CELLS IN BLOOD BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE-POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION IN CANCER OF THE UTERINE CERVIX

We used a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method for s quamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen mRNA to detect circulating tumour cells in patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix, The sensitivi ty of the method, as determined by cell spiking experiments, was 10 cu ltured A431 cells among 10(6) white blood cells. Circulating tumour ce lls were detected in 6 of 15 patients. In our control group of 24 wome n, SCC antigen mRNA was detected in 2 pregnant women at term, We follo wed up the patients for 24 months after sampling and evaluated the out come, Three out of 6 patients positive for SCC antigen mRNA have relap sed, Additionally, 1 patient has developed breast cancer, In the group of 9 patients negative for SCC antigen mRNA there has been 1 relapse and 1 case of progression of disease. These results suggest that detec tion of SCC antigen mRNA in peripheral blood by RT-PCR could be useful for staging and evaluation of prognosis in epidermoid carcinoma of th e uterine cervix. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc,.