Expression of human milk fat globule-1 in carcinomas of the uterine cervix treated with radiation therapy alone.

Expression of human milk fat globule-1 (HMFG-1) and HMFG-2 in cancer cells was studied in 269 patients with stage III and IV uterine cervical carcinomas that were treated with radiation therapy alone. They consisted of 233 patients with squamous cell carcinomas and 36 with adenocarcinomas. Of 233 patients with squamous cell carcinomas, 33 were negative for HMFG-1, and the other 200 were positive for HMFG-1. The 5-year survival rate was 36.4% (12/33) in HMFG-1-negative cases and 52.0% (104/200) in HMFG-1-positive ones. Patients who were negative for HMFG-1 showed a somewhat poorer prognosis than those who were positive for HMFG-1. The local control rates of HMFG-1-negative and -positive patients with squamous cell carcinomas were 58.6% (17/29) and 75.3% (125/166), respectively. Patients who were negative for HMFG-1 tended to show a lower local control rate than those who were positive for HMFG-1. In the uterine cervix, about one third of cells, only in the basal layer of stratified squamous epithelium, were positive for HMFG-1. These findings suggest that expression of HMFG-1 in cancer cells may mean the radiosensitivity.