To advance cervical cancer diagnostics, we propose a state-of-the-art label-free electrochemical immunosensor designed for the simultaneous detection of multiple biomarker proteins (p16INK4a, p53, and Ki67). This immunosensor is constructed using a polyethyleneimine-coated gold nanoparticles/2D tungsten disulfide/graphene oxide (PEI-AuNPs/2D WS2/GO) composite-modified three-screen-printed carbon electrode (3SPCE) array. The 2D WS2/GO hybrid provides a large specific surface area for supporting well-dispersed PEI-AuNPs and adsorbed redox-active species, enhancing overall performance. The PEI-AuNPs-decorated 2D WS2/GO composite not only improves electrode conductivity but also increases the antibody loading capacity. Redox-active species, including Cd2+ ions, 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP), and methylene blue (MB), serve as distinct signaling compounds to quantitatively detect the cervical cancer biomarkers p16INK4a, p53, and Ki67, respectively. Additionally, the immunosensor demonstrates the detection with high sensitivity, good storage stability, high selectivity, and acceptable reproducibility. This immunosensor demonstrates a good linear relationship with the logarithm of protein concentrations. Additionally, the immunosensor also demonstrates high sensitivity, good storage stability, high selectivity, and acceptable reproducibility. Our promising results and the successful application of the immunosensor in detecting three tumor markers in human serum highlight its potential for clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy (CTX) is commonly used concurrently with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. The value of CTX regimens other than cisplatin for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (LASCCHN) has not been well established. Here we compare the outcome of patients treated with different platinum-based chemotherapy regimens.

Medical records from 104 patients with LASCCHN treated with radiochemotherapy (RCTX) between February 2013 and August 2016 were analyzed.

All patients were treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (51 definitive, 53 postoperative). The median total dose was 66.6 Gy and the median fraction dose was 1.8 Gy. 81 (78%) patients were administered cisplatin CTX, 23 (22%) patients received carboplatin and paclitaxel (CarboTaxol). The rate of recurrence was 38% in patients treated with cisplatin and 30% in CarboTaxol-treated patients (p = 0.6). Regarding the CTX regimens, event-free survival (EFS) was 37 versus 30 months (p = 0.6) and overall survival (OS) was 35 versus 28 months (p = 0.5) in cisplatin group versus CarboTaxol group, respectively. Significantly higher grade 3/4 acute toxicity in terms of dysphagia was observed following cisplatin-based RCTX (p = 0.002). In multivariable analysis, females and patients with early primary tumors (T1-2) have longer EFS and OS, regardless the CTX regimen.

Primary or adjuvant RCXT with CarboTaxol is a safe and effective treatment alternative for LASCCHN patients with contraindication to cisplatin-based RCTX.

B7-H3, which has been reported to be a co-regulatory ligand of the B7 family, can suppress T cell-mediated immunity and has also been reported to be expressed in many malignancies. In this study, we found that B7-H3 was primarily expressed in the cytoplasm of cervical cancer cells and was associated with deep stromal invasion (P=0.0013). The disease-free survival data showed that cervical cancer patients whose tumours were positive for B7-H3 expression had higher mortality rates compared with patients whose tumours lacked B7-H3 expression (P=0.0317), representing an advantage over P16 (P=0.3486). In contrast, the level of serum B7-H3 was low in cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. The silencing of B7-H3 in the SiHa, CaSki and H8 cell lines inhibited cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis, while the over-expression of B7-H3 in HeLa cells showed inverse changes. These changes were partially due to the regulation of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related proteins, such as E2F, P21, P16, PARP-1, Caspase-8, Bax, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. The results of in vivo experiments revealed that the knockdown of B7-H3 in tumour cells suppressed SiHa cell growth in nude mice. Overall, B7-H3 is involved in the development and progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer through its effects on the cell cycle and apoptosis, which are mediated via the E7/Rb pathway. B7-H3 also has the potential to be a useful prognostic marker for patients with cervical cancer.