ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of SFRP4 and DKK1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and explore the clinicopathological implications.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to detect the expressions of SFRP4 and DKK1 in 66 cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 26 normal cervical specimens.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>SFRP4 expression was significantly higher (P<0.01) and DKK1 expression was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the carcinoma tissues than in normal cervical tissues. DKK1 was negatively correlated with SFRP4 in the carcinoma tissues (P<0.01), and their expressions were associated with the clinical stages, tumor differentiation, depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis of the tumors (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SFRP4 and DKK1, the upstream components of the Wnt pathway, play a key role in the tumorigenesis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma, and their expressions are associated with the clinicopathological features of the malignancy.</p>