Clinical significance of high nm23-H1 expression in intraepithelial neoplasia and early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix

Seventy-two cervical pathology specimens, consisting of samples of cancer and high- and low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, were used in a study exploring the involvement of nm23-H1/NDP kinase in carcinogenesis or recurrence. Additionally, the relationships between immunohistochemical expression of nm23-H1 and various clinicopathological variables for early-stage cervical cancer were evaluated. The nm23-H1 expression for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and squamous cell carcinoma samples was significantly elevated when compared to low-grade analogs. Only deep stromal invasion was significantly associated with high nm23 expression. Moreover, a high cumulative recurrence hazard was demonstrated for the high nm23 expression group. In conclusion, high nm23-H1 expression may induce cellular proliferation for the progression from low- to high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, with the subsequent emergence of invasive carcinoma as well as deep stromal invasion, and can be used as an indicator of prognosis.