Expression of apoptosis regulatory proteins in advanced cancer of the uterine cervix after cyclic balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy

We have already reported satisfactory therapeutic results of cisplatin-based cyclic balloon-occluded arterial infusion chemotherapy (BOAI) because it enabled advanced cervical cancer of the uterus (cervical cancer) to be treated by simple total hysterectomy (STH). In the present study, we investigated the expression of apoptosis regulatory proteins in advanced cervical cancer treated by cyclic BOAI. The results showed that the proportion of Bax-positive cells was 75.2 +/-5.6% after the first BOAI in the cases in which STH became possible (group C), and significantly lower, 11.6 +/- 11.7% (p=0.0001), in the cases in which STH remained impossible (group I). The proportion of Bax-positive cells was significantly higher in group C than in group I throughout the treatment period, but there was no significant difference in Bcl-2 expression between the two groups. The survival rate by the Kaplan-Meier method was significantly higher in group C than in group I. These results suggest that the antitumor effect of cyclic BOAI is closely associated with apoptotic cell death, which may in part be influenced by the expression of Bax.