AKR1C3 is associated with better survival of patients with endometrial carcinomas

Hojnik, Marko (author), Kenda Šuster, Nataša (author), Smrkolj, Špela (author), Frković-Grazio, Snježana (author), Verdenik, Ivan (author), Lanišnik-Rižner, Tea (author)

The aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily is gaining attention in cancer research. AKRs are involved in important biochemical processes and have crucial roles in carcinogenesis and chemoresistance. The enzyme AKR1C3 has many functions, which include production of prostaglandins, androgens and estrogens, and metabolism of different chemotherapeutics; AKR1C3 is thus implicated in the pathophysiology of different cancers. Endometrial and ovarian cancers represent the majority of gynecological malignancies in developed countries. Personalized treatments for these cancers depend on identification of prognostic and predictive biomarkers that allow stratification of patients. In this study, we evaluated the immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of AKR1C3 in 123 paraffin-embedded samples of endometrial cancer and 99 samples of ovarian cancer, and examined possible correlations between expression of AKR1C3 and other clinicopathological data. The IHC expression of AKR1C3 was higher in endometrial cancer compared to ovarian cancer. In endometrioid endometrial carcinoma, high AKR1C3 IHC expression correlated with better overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.06−0.65, p = 0.008) and with disease-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.328; 95% confidence interval, 0.12–0.88, p = 0.027). In patients with ovarian cancer, there was no correlation between AKR1C3 IHC expression and overall and disease-free survival or response to chemotherapy. These results demonstrate that AKR1C3 is a potential prognostic biomarker for endometrioid endometrial cancer.

• Language: English
• Keywords: endometrial carcinoma, high grade serous ovarian carcinoma, prognosis, immunohistochemistry, biomarker, aldo-keto reductase 1C3 (AKR1C3)
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 15 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, iss. 12, art. 4105
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-134824
• UDC: 616-006
• ISSN on article: 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm9124105
• COBISS.SI-ID: 43786755
• Publication date in RUL: 03.02.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of clinical medicine
• Shortened title: J. clin. med.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2077-0383
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5405759

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 19.12.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: karcinom endometrija, serozni karcinom jajčnikov visoke stopnje, napoved