A complete series of 40 cervical carcinomas with pelvic lymph node metastases were analysed immunohistochemically for prognostic markers. The aims of this study were to examine whether the detection of MIB-1, p53, bcl-2, and WAF-1 could be used as a prognostic marker for tumor recurrence and survival rate. During the period of observation (mean 222, range 72-360 months) 22 (55%) recurrences were encountered and 20 patients died of the disease. There were 35 squamous cell carcinomas (87.5%), 2 adenosquamous carcinomas (5.0%), and 3 pure adenocarcinomas (7.5%). One tumor (2.5%) was well differentiated, 12 tumors (30%) were moderately differentiated, and 27 tumors (67.5%) were poorly differentiated. The primary tumor grade (P=0.037) and radicality of the surgical margins (P=0.021) were significant prognostic factors with regard to tumor recurrence. The site and number of lymph nodes with metastases had no prognostic value. P53, bcl-2, and WAF-1 were not predictive factors for recurrences or the cancer-specific survival rate. The concordant expression of WAF-1 in the primary tumor and in lymph node metastases was lower than for p53 and bcl-2. The proliferative activity (MIB-1) seemed to be lower in tumor cells metastasized to the pelvic lymph nodes than in cells of the primary tumor. Expression of MIB-1 in lymph nodes was predictive of disease-free survival in both univariate and multivariate proportional hazard Cox analyses.

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