Clusterin as a potential marker in distinguishing cervical neoplasia.

Objective: To assess the immunoexpression of clusterin (CLU) in the progression of cervical neoplasia.

Study design: A total of 127 paraffin sections of cervical tissue consisting of normal cervical tissue, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions, cervical squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and adenocarcinoma of the cervix were examined by immunohistochemistry. The findings were evaluated in relation to clinicopathologic factors including grade of differentiation and lymph node involvement.

Results: Immunopositivity of CLU was found in the cytoplasm of dysplastic cells, SCCs, and normal epithelium of the endocervical gland. There was negative expression in adenocarcinoma. High expression of CLU was found in CIN 3 compared to CIN 1 and CIN 2. The immunoreactivity of CLU was found in 95% of SCCs. The staining was positive in the upper 2/3 layers of the dysplastic epithelium for CIN 3 and showed a cluster pattern in cervical SCCs. There was no significant correlation between CLU immunoreactivity and lymph node involvement, as well as grade of differentiation.

Conclusion: The overexpression of CLU in various stages of cervical lesions may serve as a potential marker to distinguish cervical neoplasia with borderline morphology features.