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Monoclonal antibody Ki-67 identifies cells in G1, S, G2, and M phases of the cell cycle. In this cytokinetic study, Ki-67 was used to characterize tumor cells in human cervical cancer specimen. This immunohistochemical study showed that Ki-67 staining gave a brown nuclear reactivity dispersed heterogeneously in a tumor cell population and correlated well with the mitotic activities of tumor cells. The finding suggested that Ki-67 staining provides an easily countable index for the study of proliferating cell populations in cervical cancer.

Several studies have shown that plasma/serum copper and ceruloplasmin concentrations are increased in various carcinomas. We determined serum concentrations of ceruloplasmin and plasma copper concentration to evaluate the clinical usefulness of these tests in patients with cervical carcinomas. There was a significantly higher ceruloplasmin concentration in patients with cervical carcinoma compared to healthy controls. Plasma concentrations of copper were not significantly different in the two groups of subjects. The copper to ceruloplasmin ratio was lower in cancer patients than in control subjects. There was a significant increase in the serum concentrations of ceruloplasmin with increasing FIGO stage of cancer. Copper concentration in advanced tumours (FIGO stage 3) were significantly higher compared to control subjects or FIGO 1 and 2. Copper to ceruloplasmin ratio was lower in FIGO stage 2 and 3 patients compared to stage 1 or control subjects. Ceruloplasmin can also discriminate between large tumours which are inoperable and early cervical carcinomas better than copper or copper to ceruloplasmin ratio.

Ki67 immunostaining was performed on 48 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and AgNOR silver staining on 29 cases. There was no correlation between the clinical stage of the tumor and the two methods of staining but both methods correlated with histological grade. There was no correlation between the two methods of staining in 17 cases where they were done on adjacent blocks of tumor tissue. High Ki67 score but not high AgNOR count was significantly associated with early recurrence.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were determined by enzyme immunoassay in 56 patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix, 34 patients with cervical dysplasia and 24 women with no evidence of cervical pathology. The logarithmic CRP values were significantly higher in patients with invasive carcinoma when compared with the controls (p less than 0.05). Measurement of serum CRP in cancer patients grouped according to their clinical stages failed to reveal any relationship with the extent of the disease.