Prognostic significance of the PC10 index as a prospective assay for cervical cancer treated with radiation therapy alone.

The monoclonal antibody PC10 recognizes proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in conventionally fixed and processed histologic materials. Formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens taken from 194 patients with Stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix treated with radiation therapy alone were investigated for PC10 positivity using immunohistochemical methods. A few squamous epithelial cells in the basal layer and the deepest zone of the prickle cell layer were positive for PC10. Cancer cells also were positive for PC10, showing a diffuse or granular nuclear staining pattern. The multiple logistic regression model analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method indicate that a strong correlation exists between the PC10 index and prognosis (P less than 0.001). Thus, the PC10 index may be a predictive indicator for the prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix treated with radiation therapy alone.