In the United States, endometrial cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of the female reproductive system. Strategies to sensitively and accurately diagnose premalignant endometrial lesions are sorely needed. We reviewed studies pertaining to the diagnostic challenges of endometrial precancers, their predictive value, and evidence to support management strategies. Currently, two diagnost...

BACKGROUND The use of fertility regulating drugs is limited among various socio-ethnic groups due to limited knowledge about their mechanism of action. This study investigates the effect of levonorgestrel and mifepristone on attachment of human embryos to an in vitro endometrial construct. METHOD Three-dimensional endometrial constructs were established by co-culturing early luteal phase huma...

Runx3 is a transcription factor that belongs to the Runx family. We studied the localization of Runx3 mRNA in the mouse uterus, and its function in the mouse endometrium using Runx3 knockout (Runx3(-/-)) mice. Runx3 mRNA was detected in the endometrial luminal epithelial cells, glandular epithelial cells and stromal cells below the epithelial cell layer on the luminal side. The uteri of Runx3(-...

This paper will focus on knowledge related to brain metastases from endometrial carcinoma. To date, 115 cases were documented in the literature with an incidence of 0.6% among endometrial carcinoma patients. The endometrial carcinoma was usually an advanced-stage and high-grade tumor. In most patients (~90%), brain metastasis was detected after diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma with a median i...

PURPOSE Although there is considerable information on the molecular aberrations associated with endometrial cancer, very little is known of the changes in gene expression associated with endometrial hyperplasia. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN To address this, we have compared the level of expression of estrogen-regulated genes and components of the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) signaling pathway ...

OBJECTIVE Activin A is a multifunctional growth and cell differentiation factor produced by normal endometrium, and secreted in high amounts by endometrial adenocarcinoma. In the present study we evaluated the expression of two inhibitory activin A ligands, follistatin and follistatin-related gene (FLRG), in endometrial adenocarcinoma and in age-matched healthy human endometrium. DESIGN AND M...

Persistent unopposed estrogen stimulation is a central oncogenic mechanism driving the formation of type I endometrial cancer. Recent epidemiologic and clinical studies of endometrial cancer have also revealed a role for insulin resistance, clinically manifested by chronic inflammation. However, the role of inflammation in estrogen-driven endometrial cancer is not well characterized. In this st...

The involvement of hormonal factors in developing endometrial cancer is well documented. In particular, excess or unopposed estrogen is a major risk factor. Endometrial cancer is divided into estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent types. Studies suggested that the subtypes of endometrial cancer share many common risk factors. Whether the levels of sex hormones differ between types 1 and 2 ...

Fat accumulation in adipose tissues is a risk factor for the development of human cancers. However, there are no studies describing the fat accumulation in adipose tissue or its distribution in human endometrial cancer. We first examined fat accumulation in adipose tissues separately on CT images of 122 patients with endometrial cancer, and investigated the correlation of these findings with va...

The incidence of endometrial cancer, a common gynecological malignancy, is increasing in Japan. We have previously shown that the ER/MDM2/p53/p21 pathway plays an important role in endometrial carcinogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of germline single nucleotide polymorphisms in murine double minute 2 (MDM2) SNP309, TP53 Arg72Pro, ESR1 PvuII and XbaI, and p21 codon 31 ...