Loss of basement membrane heparan sulfate expression is associated with tumor progression in endometrial cancer

Perlecan is a major heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HPSG) of the basement membrane (BM) and binds to various cytokines and growth factors via its heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan (HS-GAG) chains. The aim of this study was to investigate BM HS-GAG expression in endometrial cancers. We investigated the expression of BM HS-GAG by immunohistochemistry in 109 endometrial cancers and analyzed correlations with various clinicopathological features. The HS-GAG expression index was significantly lower in cases of advanced stage, high-grade, deep myometrial invasion, positive peritoneal cytology, lymph vascular space invasion and lymph node metastasis. There was no association between HS-GAG expression status and patient outcome. Decreased HS-GAG expression of BM is associated with tumor progression, but is not be a useful prognostic factor in patients presenting with endometrial cancer.

Heparan sulfate; Basement membrane; Endometrial cancer

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