ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association between high mobility group box1 (HMGB1) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), and explore the role of HMGB1/RAGE pathway in the metastasis of CSCC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Levels of HMGB1 mRNA and RAGE mRNA in CSCC and normal cervical tissues were detected by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the level of HMGB1 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mRNA and protein expression of HMGB1 was significantly higher in CSCC than that in normal cervical tissue (P < 0.05), correlated with stage, invasion and metastasis (P < 0.05), but not with tumor size and differentiation (P > 0.05). The levels of RAGE mRNA and HMGB1 mRNA were both significantly higher (r = 0.663, P < 0.05) in metastatic CSCC in comparison with those in the non-metastatic cases.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HMGB1 is involved in the invasion and metastasis of CSCC, and HMGB1/RAGE pathway plays an important role in the metastasis of CSCC.</p>