Elsevier

Annals of Oncology

Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 81-85
Annals of Oncology

original articles
gynecologic tumors
Twist expression in patients with cervical cancer is associated with poor disease outcome

https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdm344Get rights and content
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Abstract

Background

Twist, a basic helix–-loop–helix transcription factor, has been reported to be associated with the development and progression of human cancer. We examined the distribution and expression of Twist in cervical cancer to examine its clinical significance.

Patients and methods

We examined the distribution and expression of Twist in 101 cervical cancer specimens and determined the association between their expression and the clinico-pathological features observed, including patient outcome.

Results

Of the 101 specimens, 55 cases were negative for Twist immuno-expression, whereas 46 were positive. When categorized into negative versus positive expression, Twist was not associated with any of the clinico-pathological parameters examined. Positive Twist expression significantly predicted poorer overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) when compared with negative expression (P < 0.01). In the multivariate analyses, positive Twist expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our data imply that positive Twist expression seems to be a useful marker in patients with cervical cancer likely to have an unfavorable clinical outcome.

Keywords

cervical cancer
epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)
prognosis
Twist

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