Correlation of Nerve Growth Factor and Its Receptors Expression with Perineural Invasion in Early-stage Cervical Cancer

Objective To evaluate the potential association of nerve growth factor (NGF) and its receptors TrkA and p75NRT with perineural invasion(PNI) and other clinicopathological features of early-stage cervical cancer.

Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 60 patients with stage Ⅰb-Ⅱa2 cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy plus pelvic lymphadenectomy in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Guangxi Medical University from January 2010 to June 2014. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on surgical samples to analyze the expression of NGF, TrkA and p75; the correlation of their expression with perineural invasion and other clinicopathological features was analyzed.

Results Perineural invasion was correlated strongly with the high expression of NGF (P=0.025) and TrkA (P=0.011). The rate of NGF-positive area and TrkA-positive area were significantly larger in PNI-positive patients than those in PNI-negative patients (P=0.016, 0.026, respectively). The expressions of NGF and TrkA were significantly associated with lymph-vascular space invasion(LVSI) (P=0.029, 0.019, respectively), but not associated with other clinicopathological features (P > 0.05). While p75 expression was not related to either perineural invasion or other clinicopathological features(P > 0.05).

Conclusion High expressions of NGF and TrkA are associated with perineural invasion, which suggests that NGF and TrkA may participate in the related molecular mechanism of PNI.