May cathepsin D immunoreactivity be used as a prognostic factor in endometrial carcinomas? A comparative immunohistochemical study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prognostic value of immunohistochemical detection of cathepsin D and the association between cathepsin D and established prognostic factors in endometrial carcinoma.


METHODS
Cathepsin D immunoreactivity was determined by an immunohistochemical technique in a series of 79 patients with surgical stage I-III primary endometrial carcinoma.


RESULTS
Of 79 tissue specimens, 48 (61%) showed a positive reaction for cathepsin D. A significant correlation between cathepsin D and histological grade was found (P < 0.05). The other established clinicopathological prognostic factors were not associated with cathepsin D. There was not any significant difference in prognosis between the positive cases and negative cases for cathepsin D (P > 0.05). In the univariate analysis cathepsin D immunoreactivity did not show significant prognostic value for overall survival (P > 0.05). The multivariate analysis also showed that cathepsin D was not related to patient outcome (P = 0.24, relative risk = 0.34, 95% confidence interval = 0.05-2.09).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that cathepsin D immunoreactivity may not be of prognostic value but more studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between its immunoreactivity in tumor cells and in other cells.
Saygili
U
U
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey. Saygiliu@hotmail.com
Koyuncuoglu
M
M
Altunyurt
S
S
Guclu
S
S
Uslu
T
T
Erten
O
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002402:Cathepsin D / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002402:Cathepsin D