In endometrial carcinoma, Ghrelin expression has a diagnostic role, and signal transductors and activators of transcription 5 can be a therapeutic target

Abstract

Abstract Background and objective Endometrial carcinoma was ranked the sixth most common female cancer worldwide. Previous studies reported that Ghrelin–signal transductors and activators of transcription 5 (STAT5) axis could modulate many tumors’ behavior. Therefore, we investigated the expressions of Ghrelin and STAT5 in endometrioid carcinoma (EC). Moreover, we tried to find a diagnostic marker to differentiate atypical hyperplasia (AH) from well-differentiated EC. Patients and methods One hundred-eight formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens were cut, and each specimen was stained with STAT5 and Ghrelin separately using immunohistochemistry. Results STAT5 expression was detected in 78.6% of EC. This expression was significantly increased with increasing EC grade (P=0.04) and myometrial invasion depth (P=0.01). In contrast, there was a decrease in Ghrelin expression with lesion progression from cyclic endometrium, and endometrial hyperplasia to EC, which was statistically significant (P=0.002). Moreover, a negative association was noticed between Ghrelin expression and histological grades, depth of myometrial invasion, presence of lymph node metastasis, and tumor stage (P=0.01, 0.05, 0.003, and 0.002, respectively). Conclusion STAT5 is associated with differentiation and invasion in EC and can be targeted for therapeutic management. Additionally, Ghrelin can be a sensitive marker to distinguish AH and well-differentiated EC.