Abstract:Objective: To investigate the correlation between the expression of Keratin 17 (KRT17) and Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in cervical cancer (CC) tissue and the prognosis of patients. Methods: From April 2015 to April 2019,86 patients diagnosed with CC in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at our hospital were included in this study.Tissue samples were collected from the cancerous areas (CC group) and adjacent non-cancerous areas (adjacent group).The expressions of KRT17 and KLF4 were assessed using immunohistochemistry.Kaplan-Meier analysis was employed to examine the relationship between KRT17,KLF4 expression,and the prognosis of CC patients.Additionally,COX regression analysis was conducted to identify risk factors influencing the prognosis of CC patients. Results: In comparison to the adjacent group,the CC group exhibited a significantly higher rate of positive KRT17 expression and a notably lower rate of positive KLF4 expression (P<0.05).The expression levels of KRT17 and KLF4 were found to be associated with the depth of myometrial invasion,lymph node metastasis,and the degree of differentiation (P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that within the KRT17 high-expression group,patients had a lower 3-year cumulative survival rate compared to the low-expression group.Conversely,the 3-year cumulative survival rate in the KLF4 high-expression group was higher than in the low-expression group (P<0.05).Multivariate COX regression analysis demonstrated that myometrial invasion depth,lymph node metastasis,KRT17,and KLF4 expression were significant risk factors affecting the prognosis of CC patients (P<0.05). Conclusion: In the CC group,there was a significant increase in the rate of positive KRT17 expression and a significant decrease in the rate of positive KLF4 expression.These findings are closely related to clinicopathological characteristics and hold valuable implications for evaluating the prognosis of CC patients.