Peritumoral stroma and systemic inflammatory response in cervical cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunohistochemistry
• Hematology

Background:

• Cervical cancer is a significant global health concern.
• Understanding the tumor microenvironment, including cervical stroma, is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
• Stromal markers and hematological parameters may offer insights into cancer progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare cervical stroma characteristics in advanced cervical cancer patients versus a control group.
• To compare pre-treatment hemogram parameters between advanced cervical cancer patients and controls.
• To investigate the association between stromal markers and prognostic factors in cervical cancer.

Main Methods:

• Prospective evaluation of 16 advanced cervical cancer patients and 22 controls (uterine leiomyoma).
• Immunohistochemistry used to assess stromal immunostaining of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP).
• Comparison of immunostainings and hemogram parameters using Fisher's exact and Mann-Whitney tests.

Main Results:

• Strong FAP and SMA immunostaining were significantly more frequent in cervical cancer patients compared to controls (P = 0.0002 and P < 0.00001, respectively).
• The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was significantly higher in the cervical cancer group (P = 0.0019).
• No significant association was found between the studied parameters and prognostic factors.

Conclusions:

• Patients with advanced cervical cancer exhibit enhanced fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) in the stroma.
• Elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is characteristic of advanced cervical cancer.
• These findings suggest potential roles for FAP, SMA, and NLR in advanced cervical cancer, though not directly linked to prognosis in this study.