Abstract:

Objective To explore the expression of Toll like receptor-9（TLR-9）and its correlation with microvessel density（MVD）and vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF）in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Methods The expression of TLR-9 was detected by immunohistochemical SP method in 48 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 20 cases of normal cervical epithelium. The tissues were labeled with CD34 monoclonal antibody to calculate MVD， and the level of VEGF was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The effectiveness of TLR-9 expression in the diagnosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve. Results In the tissues from cervical squamous cell carcinoma， the positive expression rate of TLR-9 was 83.3％（40/48）， and the MVD and level of VEGF were 36.8±7.25 and（25.58±3.49）ng/mg， all higher than those of normal cervical epithelial tissues（P＜0.05）. The high expression of TLR-9 was related to the clinical stage and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9， but unrelated with histological grade and lymph node metastasis. The levels of VEGF and MVD in tissues with TLR-9 positive expression were significantly higher than those in the negative group（P＜0.05）. The diagnostic efficiency of TLR-9 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma was good， and its AUC， sensitivity and specificity were 0.830， 76.1％ and 82.7％， respectively. Conclusion The carcinogenesis and metastasis with high expression of TLR-9 may be involved in cervical squamous cell carcinoma， and angiogenesis is closely related with cervical squamous cell carcinoma.