Abstract:

Objective To investigate the differences in the levels of inactive rhomboid protein （iRhom） 1， iRhom2， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in cervical cancer patients with different prognoses， and to analyze the predictive value of each index for patient's prognosis. Methods A total of 90 cervical cancer patients who underwent extensive hysterectomy at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from June 2021 to June 2023 were selected as the study objects. Using a propensity score matching method with a caliper value of 0.02， 30 cases with normal cervical biopsy results and matched general clinical data were selected as the controls. Cervical cancer patients were divided into the good prognosis group （n=69） and the poor prognosis group （n=21） according to the prognosis. Western blotting was used to detect the protein levels of iRhom1， iRhom2， and TNF-α in tissue samples. The differences in iRhom1， iRhom2， and TNF-α protein levels between cervical cancer tissues， adjacent tissues， normal cervical tissues， and between the good and poor prognosis groups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of prognosis in cervical cancer patients， and the receiver operator characteristic （ROC） curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of each indicator for prognosis in cervical cancer patients. Results The levels of iRhom1 protein in cervical cancer tissues， adjacent tissues， and normal cervical tissues were 0.80±0.11， 0.41±0.10， 0.40±0.07， respectively； those of iRhom2 were 0.81±0.12， 0.47±0.10， 0.46±0.05， respectively； and those of TNF-α were 1.15±0.12， 0.58±0.10， 0.56±0.07， respectively. There were statistically significant differences in the levels of iRhom1， iRhom2， and TNF-α protein among the three groups （F=64.93， P<0.001； F=56.14， P<0.001； F=191.61， P<0.001）. There were statistically significant differences in the levels of iRhom1， iRhom2 and TNF-α between cervical cancer tissues and adjacent tissues and normal cervical tissues （all P<0.05）. In the poor prognosis group and the good prognosis group， the levels of iRhom1 protein in cervical cancer tissues were 0.90±0.12 and 0.77±0.10， respectively； those of iRhom2 were 0.90±0.10 and 0.79±0.09， respectively； and those of TNF-α were 1.29±0.13 and 1.06±0.10， respectively. There were statistically significant differences in iRhom1， iRhom2， and TNF-α protein levels between the two groups （t=7.31， P<0.001； t=5.35， P<0.001； t=10.30， P<0.001）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that， iRhom1 （OR=2.29， 95%CI：1.77-3.71， P<0.001）， iRhom2 （OR=1.51， 95%CI：1.10-2.71， P<0.001）， and TNF-α （OR=2.10， 95%CI：1.90-4.44， P<0.001） were all independent influencing factors of the prognosis of cervical cancer patients. The ROC curve indicated that iRhom1 （AUC=0.88， 95%CI：0.80-0.97）， iRhom2 （AUC=0.83， 95%CI：0.73-0.94）， and TNF-α （AUC=0.80， 95%CI：0.65-0.94） alone and in combination （AUC=0.97， 95%CI：0.93-1.00） could predict prognosis of cervical cancer patients. Conclusions The levels of iRhom1， iRhom2 and TNF-α proteins in cervical cancer tissues are higher than those in adjacent tissues and normal cervical tissues， and the levels of these three indexes in cervical cancer tissues with poor prognosis are significantly higher than those in cervical cancer tissues with good prognosis. The levels of iRhom1， iRhom2 and TNF-α protein are all independent factors influencing the prognosis of cervical cancer patients， and the three indicators alone or in combination can predict the prognosis of cervical cancer patients.

Key words: Uterine cervical neoplasms, Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Prognosis, Inactive rhomboid protein