Placenta growth factor is abundantly expressed in human cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

Tumor angiogenesis is essential for solid tumor growth. The object of this study was to investigate the presence of newly identified angiogenic factor, placenta growth factor (P1GF) in human cervical cancers. The expression of P1GF mRNA was assessed by RT-PCR in 29 patients with cervical cancer. Fifteen out of 29 cervical cancers expressed a certain level of P1GF mRNA. In addition, the expression levels of P1GF mRNA in squamous cell carcinomas were significantly higher than those in adenocarcinomas. There was no correlation between the expression of P1GF mRNA and FIGO stage. These results indicate that the expression of P1GF may be implicated in the promotion of angiogenesis in human cervical squamous cell carcinomas, but not in human cervical adenocarcinomas.