High Nuclear Expression Of The P53 Target Wig-1 Is Associated With Poor Prognosis In Cervical Carcinoma

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide, and is the most common cancer in Eastern Africa, South-Central Asia and Melanesia. Persistent HPV infection is an important feature of cervical cancer. The central role of chromosome 3q for progression from low-grade dysplastic lesions to higher grades and to invasive carcinomas has been well established. Gain of 3q can occur in morphologically normal cytology of women who developed cervical carcinomas after only a short latency. The Wig-1 gene (wt p53-induced gene 1) is located at the frequently gained chromosomal region 3q. We examined Wig-1 in eight cervical cancer cell lines (Ca Ski, ME-180, MS751, SiHa, SW 756, C-4I, C-33A, and HT-3) by FISH, Southern, Northern, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. We did not detect any Wig-1 gene alterations in these cell lines. C33-A and HT-3 with strong Wig-1 mRNA expression were HPV negative while the HPV positive cells only exhibited low / moderate Wig-1 expression by Northern blotting. However, no association was found between Wig-1 protein expression and HPV infection. We also assessed Wig-1 expression in a series of 38 cervical tumors, including both squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (ADCA), by immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, patients who showed moderate nuclear Wig-1 expression levels and positive cytoplasmic Wig-1 staining in their tumors had significantly better prognosis than patients with high nuclear Wig-1 expression and no cytoplasmic staining (Log Rank P value = 0.042). Moreover, higher nuclear Wig-1 expression levels were associated with HPV negative cervical tumors (P=0.003). These results suggest that a marker like Wig-1 could have considerable impact on prediction of the prognosis in women with cervical cancer. Our previous results indicate that Wig-1 acts as a survival factor. Thus, high levels of nuclear Wig-1 may promote tumor growth and survival. The exact role of Wig-1 at the molecular level during cervical carcinoma development needs further investigation. Citation Format: Lidi Xu, Susanne Muller, Mikael Lerner, Svetlana Lagercrantz, Dan Grander, Keng-Ling Wallin, Klas G. Wiman, Sonia Andersson, Catharina Larsson. High nuclear expression of the p53 target Wig-1 is associated with poor prognosis in cervical carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1849. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1849