Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationship between expression of lysosomal-associated membrane protein 3 (LAMP3), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) in tissues and pathological characteristics in cervical cancer patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection undergoing radical surgery.
METHODS A total of 116 patients with cervical cancer and HPV infection admitted to Changzhou Wujin Hospital from Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2023 were enrolled. All patients underwent radical surgery for cervical cancer, and tumor tissue and adjacent non-tumor tissue were collected for the detection of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 expression. The positive expression of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 in tumor tissue and adjacent non-tumor tissue was compared, and the relationship between protein expression in tumor tissue and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. All patients were followed up for 2 years and were divided into a good prognosis group (n=82) and a poor prognosis group (n=34) based on the occurrence of tumor recurrence, metastasis, new lesions or death. The expression levels of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 were compared between the two groups, and the relationship between protein expression and prognosis was assessed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS The positive expression rates of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 in tumor tissues were 71.55%, 76.72% and 74.14%, respectively, all of which were higher than those in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Furthermore, higher positive expression rates were observed in tumors with increased FIGO staging, lymph node metastasis and greater invasion depth (P<0.05). Follow-up results showed that 29.31% (34/116) of patients had a poor prognosis. Specifically, the positive expression rates of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 in this group were 88.24%, 91.18% and 91.18%, respectively, all significantly higher than those in the good prognosis group (P<0.05). Logistic analysis indicated that the expression of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 were important indicators affecting patient prognosis, and patients with high expression had a higher risk of poor prognosis (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS The expression of LAMP3, ATF4 and FOXP3 is upregulated in tissues from cervical cancer patients with HPV infection undergoing radical hysterectomy, which may affect patient prognosis.