High keratin 15 expression reflects favorable prognosis in early cervical cancer patients

• Published in: Irish journal of medical science Vol. 193; no. 4; pp. 1755 - 1761
• Main Authors: Zhou, Li, Bi, Ying, Wu, Xiaoling, He, Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Disease-Free Survival; Family Medicine; Female; General Practice; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Internal Medicine; Keratin-15 - metabolism; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original Article; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - metabolism; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - mortality; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - pathology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - therapy; Tumor features; Overall survival; Keratin 15; Cervical cancer; Disease-free survival
• ISSN: 0021-1265; 1863-4362; 1863-4362
• DOI: 10.1007/s11845-024-03686-6

Objective Keratin 15 (KRT15) exhibits inconsistent prognostic roles in different cancers, and its prognostic value in early cervical cancer patients who receive tumor resection remains unknown. This study aimed to assess the relationship of KRT15 expression with prognosis in these patients. Methods Totally, 147 early cervical cancer patients who received tumor resection were reviewed in this retrospective study. KRT15 was detected in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue by immunohistochemistry (IHC). KRT15 IHC scores were computed by multiplying the percentage of positively stained cells (scored as 0–4) and corresponding staining intensity (scored as 0–3), ranging from 0 to 12. Results Elevated KRT15 IHC score was linked with moderate to well differentiation ( P  = 0.005), tumor size ≤ 4 cm ( P  = 0.017), and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage Ia/Ib ( P  < 0.001). KRT15 IHC score was inversely associated with adjuvant radiotherapy ( P  = 0.025) and adjuvant chemotherapy ( P  = 0.016). KRT15 IHC score ≥ 1 was linked with increased disease-free survival (DFS) ( P  = 0.003) and overall survival (OS) ( P  = 0.049). Meanwhile, KRT15 IHC score ≥ 1 independently predicted increased DFS (hazard ratio = 0.213, P  = 0.017), but not OS ( P  > 0.05). KRT15 IHC score ≥ 3 and KRT15 IHC score ≥ 6 could not predict DFS or OS (all P  > 0.05). By subgroup analyses, KRT15 IHC score ≥ 1 forecasted favorable DFS in patients with age > 45 years, human papillomavirus-positive, squamous carcinoma, and tumor size ≤ 4 cm (all P  < 0.05). KRT15 IHC score ≥ 1 and KRT15 IHC score ≥ 3 predicted ascended DFS in patients without adjuvant radiotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy (all P  < 0.05). Conclusion High KRT15 expression reflects favorable tumor features and longer survival in early cervical cancer patients who receive tumor resection.