Abstract:Objective To examine the expression of CD36 and its role in the progression of cervical cancer. Methods A total of 102 cases of cervical cancer tissue as well as 46 cases of normal cervical tissue were collected in this study. CD36 expression in cell lines and human tissues were identified by Western blot and immunochemistry, respectively. Results Western blotting showed that the ratio of CD36/GAPDH were (4.6 ± 1.3), (43.3 ± 2.6) and (45.8 ± 3.4) in C33a, HCE1 and Hela, respectively (P < 0.05). The positive rate of CD36 expression was 72.5% and 21.7% in cervical cancer and normal tissue, respectively (P < 0.05). Expression of CD36 was closely associated with degree of differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05) while no significant correlation in CD36 expression was identified between cervical cancer and age, clinical stage or T stage (P > 0.05) . Conclusions CD36 may play an important role in the progression of cervical cancer and may be a new therapeutic target for cervical cancer.