Menopause Clinic, 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens, Aretaieio Hospital, 33 Metonos Street, Holargos, Athens, Greece.
Climacteric. 2012 Apr;15(2):181-5. doi: 10.3109/13697137.2011.604144. Epub 2011 Nov 8.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) seems to be a critical molecule in cervical carcinogenesis. We aimed to investigate the possible associations between hormonal factors and VEGF expression in cervical epithelial cells from postmenopausal women.
A total of 105 healthy postmenopausal women (aged 45-68 years old) attending a university menopause clinic were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Pap smears were derived from current users of 17β-estradiol 1 mg + norethisterone acetate 0.5 mg (n = 28), tibolone 2.5 mg (n = 23), raloxifene HCl 60 mg (n = 21) and women not receiving treatment (n = 33). VEGF immunostaining was evaluated in squamous, glandular and metaplastic cells, using a semiquantitative method (rating scale: 0-3).
Concerning endogenous hormones, higher Δ4-androstenedione levels were associated with more intense VEGF immunostaining in glandular (p = 0.041) and metaplastic cells (p = 0.004). Hormone therapy and raloxifene did not induce any changes in VEGF immunoreactivity in the examined cells. In contrast, tibolone administration was accompanied by diminished VEGF presence in metaplastic cells (p = 0.016 vs. controls).
Our findings may in part reflect the molecular processes contributing to the safe profile of hormone therapy, tibolone and raloxifene in cervical carcinogenesis.
血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）似乎是宫颈癌发生过程中的关键分子。我们旨在研究绝经后女性宫颈上皮细胞中激素因素与 VEGF 表达之间的可能关联。
本横断面研究共纳入 105 名在大学绝经诊所就诊的健康绝经后妇女（年龄 45-68 岁）。从当前使用 17β-雌二醇 1mg+醋酸炔诺酮 0.5mg（n=28）、替勃龙 2.5mg（n=23）、盐酸雷洛昔芬 60mg（n=21）和未接受治疗的妇女（n=33）的巴氏涂片获得 VEGF 免疫染色。使用半定量方法（评分：0-3）评估鳞状、腺体和化生细胞中的 VEGF 免疫染色。
就内源性激素而言，较高的Δ4-雄烯二酮水平与腺体（p=0.041）和化生细胞（p=0.004）中更强烈的 VEGF 免疫染色相关。激素治疗和雷洛昔芬在检查细胞中未引起 VEGF 免疫反应的任何变化。相比之下，替勃龙给药伴随着化生细胞中 VEGF 存在减少（p=0.016 与对照组相比）。
我们的发现部分可能反映了在宫颈癌发生过程中激素治疗、替勃龙和雷洛昔芬安全谱的分子过程。
