Abstract
Background: The Wilms' tumor gene WT1 is overexpressed in endometrial cancer. Although recent studies have revealed that WT1 is a new prognostic factor, it remains unclear whether WT1 plays a pathophysiological role including cell proliferation. Patients and Methods: A series of 70 endometrial cancer patients who had undergone a curative resection was studied by immunohistochemistry to determine the correlation between WT1 expression and cell proliferation (proliferating cell nuclear antigen; PCNA). Results: WT1 expression was observed in 64 cases (91%). WT1 expression was associated with advanced FIGO stage (p=0.0228), myometrial invasion (p=0.0114) and high-grade histological differentiation (p=0.0004), indicating up-regulation of WT1 expression with tumor progression. A positive correlation between PCNA labeling index and score of WT1 expression was observed (p=0.0081, ρ=0.319). Conclusion: These results showed that WT1 might regulate cell proliferation in endometrial cancer.
- Received April 28, 2009.
- Revision received July 28, 2009.
- Accepted September 1, 2009.
- Copyright© 2009 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved