Expression and significance of biglycan in endometrial cancer

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the expression level of biglycan in different lesion properties of endometrium and to investigate the possible function and prognostic value of biglycan in endometrial cancer. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and quantitative realtime reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to determine the protein and mRNA levels of biglycan in human normal endometrium, atypical hyperplasia endometrium, and endometrial cancer tissue samples. The expression of biglycan in serum and peritoneal washings was detected by ELISA method. Then we analyzed the correlation of biglycan expression with clinicopathological parameters in endometrial cancer. (1) Biglycan was overexpressed in endometrial cancer, especially in cancerous mesenchyme. Moreover, biglycan expression was significantly correlated with histopathological grade and FIGO stage of endometrial cancer; (2) Biglycan expression level in sera and peritoneal washings was significantly higher in endometrial cancer patients; otherwise, Serum expression correlated with clinicopathological parameters of endometrial cancer; (3) Higher level expression of biglycan in cancerous mesenchyme correlated with poor prognosis of endometrial cancer. Biglycan might play a role in the progression of human endometrial cancer and it might be a useful molecular marker for the prognosis of endometrial cancer. This research is an initial step towards biglycan as a potential prognosis marker in endometrial cancer.