Expression of C-myc Proto-oncogene in Premalignant and Malignant Uterine Cervix Lesions

The aim of the study was to assess the expression and clinical significance of C-myc proto-oncogene in the progression of cervical neoplasms. To establish the role of this proto-oncogene in uterine cervix carcinogenesis, we examined 69 tissue samples of: low grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) (n=16), high grade SIL (n=11), portio vaginalis uteri (PVU) carcinoma in situ (n=11) and PVU invasive carcinoma, stage IA-IIA (n=13) (study group) and 18 samples without SIL or malignancy (control group), between January 2004 and December 2005. Expression of C-myc was detected immunohistochemically using monoclonal antibodies. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess statistical significance. Sensitivity and specificity of the test, are higher and qualify the test as possible screening method for early detection of changes in the uterine cervix. In our study, overexpression of C-myc oncogene was found only in patients with PVU invasive carcinoma (3/13–23.0%). Significant difference was not found in the frequency of overexpression in patients with PVU invasive carcinoma in relation to the control group (Fisher’s test; p=0.064). The method’s sensitivity of determining this oncogene with the aim of detecting PVU invasive carcinoma was 23% while specificity was 72.2%. We confirmed in our research that expression of C-myc oncogenes was increased only in patients with PVU invasive carcinoma. However, a more extensive series of samples and additional tests are required to establish prognostic significance of C-myc in cervical carcinogenesis.