Analyzing simultaneous positive expression of EZH2 and P53 protein to improve predictive value in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE:The current study was undertaken to investigate the predictive value of simultaneous enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and P53 expression in lesions of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS:Quantum dot double fluorescence staining was applied to detect EZH2 and P53 protein in biopsy tissue of 168 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. The expression was classified into double positive (EZH2 and P53 were positively expressed), single positive (either EZH2 or P53 was positively expressed), and double negative (neither was positively expressed). The EZH2 and P53 expression, clinical stages of cervical cancer, lymph node metastasis, progression-free survival, and overall survival were analyzed. RESULTS:A relationship of EZH2 and P53 expression with the clinical stage of cervical cancer and lymph node metastasis was indicated. Simultaneous detection of both proteins could partly predict prognosis, consistent with previous studies' results. The current study demonstrated that the expression levels of EZH2 and P53 in tumor tissue and the proportion of cases with double-positive expression significantly increased with increasing clinical stages of cancer, also confirming up-regulated expression of EZH2 and P53 with increasing stages. These findings may suggest that the 2 proteins were involved in the development of cervical cancer, but the nature of their interaction is undefined. The increase of EZH2 and P53 expression in patients with lymph node metastasis indicated that they may be involved in metastasis of cervical cancer. CONCLUSION:Simultaneous positive EZH2 and P53 expression could improve the predictive value of a poor prognosis in cervical cancer.