HE4, also known as WFDC2, is a useful biomarker for ovarian cancer when either used alone or in combination with CA125. HE4 is also overexpressed in endometrial cancer (EC), but its function in cancer cells is not clear. In this study, we investigate the role of HE4 in EC progression. An HE4-overexpression system was established by cloning the HE4 prototypic mRNA variant (HE4-V0) into a eukaryo...

BACKGROUND Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is the best known single tumor marker for ovarian cancer (OC). We investigated whether the additional information of the human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) improves diagnostic accuracy. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed preoperative sera of 109 healthy women, 285 patients with benign ovarian masses (cystadenoma: n=78, leimyoma: n=66, endometriosis: n=52, ...

Antiestrogens including tamoxifen and fulvestrant have been evaluated as chemotherapeutics for ovarian cancer, particularly in cases of platinum resistant disease. Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is highly overexpressed in women with ovarian cancer and overexpression of HE4 has been found to correlate with platinum resistance. However, the role of HE4 in modulating responses to hormones and ho...

OBJECTIVE The main aims of this study were to explore the molecular structural relationship between Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and Lewis y antigen by determining their expression patterns and clinical significance in ovarian epithelial carcinoma. METHODS The structural relationship between HE4 and Lewis y antigen was examined using immunoprecipitation and confocal laser scanning microsc...

Among the genes most commonly identified in gene expression profiles of epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOC) is the gene for human epididymis protein 4 (HE4). To ascertain its clinical utility, we did a comprehensive assessment of HE4 protein expression in benign and malignant ovarian and nonovarian tissues by immunohistochemistry. In comparison with normal surface epithelium, which does not exp...

BACKGROUND It is well-known that the treatment and monitoring methods are limited for advanced stage of endometrial carcinoma. Biological molecules with expression changes during tumor progression become potential therapeutic targets for advanced stage endometrial carcinoma. Annexin A2 (ANXA2) has been reported to be overexpressed in recurrent endometrial carcinoma, and the expression of human ...

Selective overexpression of Human epididymal secretory protein E4 (HE4) points to a role in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis but little is known about the role the HE4 gene or the gene product plays. Here we show that elevated HE4 serum levels correlate with chemoresistance and decreased survival rates in EOC patients. HE4 overexpression promoted xenograft tumor growth and chemoresistance against c...

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy resistance presents a difficult challenge in treating epithelial ovarian cancer patients, particularly when tumors exhibit resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic agents. A few studies have shown that elevated serum levels of the ovarian cancer biomarker HE4 correlate with tumor chemoresistance, response to treatment, and survival. Here, we sought to confirm our previous...

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a recognized biomarker in ovarian and endometrial cancer and over-expressed in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnostic value of HE4 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains unknown. Here we elucidate mRNA, protein and serum level of HE4 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. HE4 mRNA level in tumor adjacent tissues and pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues were tested by re...

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) has received major attention as a potential tumor marker in epithelial ovarian cancer; however, evidence of significant overexpression of HE4 in several other human cancers is expanding. To assess the possible limitations or benefits of HE4 in a clinical setting, this review aims to systematically outline published results of HE4 tissue expression and serum HE4 ...