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 ...

OBJECTIVE Obesity is a well-known risk factor for developing endometrial cancer. However, the incidence and survival rate of endometrial cancer are associated with ethnicity and geographical area. In addition, whether menopausal status is associated with developing endometrial cancer in obese women and whether obesity is associated with subtypes of endometrial cancer have not been fully investi...

The androgen receptor (AR) is known to play critical roles in the malignancy of prostate cancer as well as the management of male reproductive organs. Endometrial carcinoma, one of the major female cancers, is considered an androgen-related cancer. However, the importance of androgen signaling through its receptor in endometrial carcinomas has not yet been clarified. We recently demonstrated th...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of endometrial polyps in patients with uterine fibroids and associated factors of coexistence of these two pathologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS The medical records of 772 patients who underwent hysterectomy because of uterine fibroids were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of...

In order to explore the impact of endometrial thickness on hCG administration day on ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR) in IVF-ET cycles, we retrospectively analyzed data from 10,406 patients undergoing their first IVF cycles with standard gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-a) long protocol. Firstly, patients were divided into poor (≤ 5 oocytes), medium (6-14 oocytes), and high (≥ 15 oocyt...