Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between survival and erb-b2 immunohistochemical staining in patients with early stage cervical carcinoma.
Methods: Archival specimens for 126 patients with stage IB/IIA cervical carcinoma treated with radical hysterectomy and bilateral pelvic node dissection (RH-BPND) were retrieved and submitted to immunohistochemistry for ERBB2 expression. The association between positive results and poor survival was assessed in a multivariate analysis.
Results: Erb-b2 immunostaining was significantly associated with poor survival (P = 0.0284) but less so than parametrial extension (P = 0.0014) and nodal disease (P = 0.0106). Tumor type (squamous/adenosquamous/adenocarcinoma) and the status of surgical margins were not significantly associated with survival.
Conclusions: These results supported further investigations of ERBB2 expression as a marker of high-risk disease in patients treated with RH-BPND.
Copyright 1999 Academic Press.