The expression of Mcl-1 in human cervical cancer and its clinical significance

Recently, the role of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 in human carcinogenesis has become an area of great interest as overexpression of the protein has been reported in association with various types of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profile of Mcl-1 in cervical cancer and to assess its clinical significance. Immunohistochemistry was used in the detection of Mcl-1 expression as well as the proliferation index of Ki-67, both in cervical cancer and in corresponding normal tissue. Western blotting analysis was also used for the detection of Mcl-1. The data was correlated with clinicopathological features. Survival analysis was performed to assess prognostic significance. Mcl-1 was overexpressed in cervical cancer tissue when compared with corresponding normal tissue. High expression of Mcl-1 was significantly associated with histological grade (P = 0.039), tumor size (P = 0.024) and lymph node involvement (P = 0.002). Overexpression of Ki-67 was associated with lymph node involvement (P = 0.015) and disease stage (P = 0.012). Spearman rank correlation test demonstrated a positive correlation between Mcl-1 and Ki-67 (P < 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, a comparison of survival curves of low versus high expressers of Mcl-1 and Ki-67 revealed a highly significant difference in human cervical cancer tissue (P < 0.05), which suggests that overexpression of Mcl-1 and Ki-67 is associated with a poorer prognosis. Our results suggest that Mcl-1 may play an important role in cervical cancer and that it may have potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target. Its evaluation with Ki-67 may provide reliable prognostic information on cervical cancer.