Expression of Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 in cervical cancer: Association with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis

Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 (EBI3) encodes a secretory glycoprotein, and has previously been identified as upregulated in a series of cancers. However, the clinical significance of EBI3 in cervical cancer and the potential of EBI3 as a therapeutic target for this disease have not been elucidated. In the present study, EBI3 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 90 clinicopathologically characterized cervical cancer tissue samples. The association between EBI3 expression and survival of patients with cervical cancer was also analyzed. The expression level of EBI3 in cervical cancer tissues was found to be significantly increased compared with the expression levels in the normal squamous epithelium. In addition, EBI3 expression was significantly correlated with the clinical stage and size of tumors (P<0.05). Furthermore, the presence of EBI3 expression was associated with a poor prognosis compared with patients without EBI3 expression. Multivariate analysis revealed that EBI3 expression was an independent predictor of overall survival (hazard ratio, 4.032; 95% confidence interval, 1.538-7.436; P=0.035). To the best of our knowledge, the present results indicate for the first time that EBI3 expression is significantly associated with the progression and poor prognosis of cervical cancer. EBI3 may be a potential prognostic marker and a therapeutic target in cervical cancer.