title: pRb2/p130 and VEGF expression in endometrial carcinoma in relation to angiogenesis and histopathologic tumor grade.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy. Established prognostic factors are histologic grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and extrauterine spread including retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. Tumorigenesis is a multistep process involving different genetic changes resulting in uncontrolled cellular proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, and enhanced vascular proliferation among other events. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from a preexisting vascular network, is necessary for invasive tumor growth and metastasis and constitutes an important point in the control of cancer progression. The pathogenesis of the angiogenetic phenotype may involve the inactivation of different tumor suppressor genes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the relationship between the expression levels of VEGF and the retinoblastoma family member pRb2/p130 in endometrial carcinoma in relation to histopathologic tumor grade in a cohort of 50 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that VEGF and pRB2/p130 expression were inversely correlated. Additionally, high grade tumors presented a significantly lower number of cells expressing pRb2/p130 when compared to low grade tumors. A significant positive correlation was found, by means of the Spearman coefficient, between VEGF expression and binary grading (0.450, p-value < 0.005) which is an architectural grading system that uses low-magnification assessment of amount of solid growth, pattern of invasion, and presence of necrosis to divide endometrioid carcinomas into low- and high-grade tumors. Additionally, we also found a negative correlation between pRb2/p130 expression levels and binary grading (-0.595, p-value < 0.005). Interestingly, we also found that VEGF and pRb2/p130 expression levels were not related to staging (p-value > 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results open up a new perspective including novel markers that, combined together, may be useful in patient screening for endometrial cancer aggressiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, University of Siena, Nuovo Policlinico "Le Scotte",Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanseverino
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santopietro
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torricelli
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Andrilli
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cevenini
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bovicelli
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leoncini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scambia
authors.forename: Felice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petraglia
authors.forename: Pier Paolo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Claudio
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giordano
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018269:Carcinoma, Endometrioid / Q000098:blood supply / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D050717:Retinoblastoma-Like Protein p130 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D050717:Retinoblastoma-Like Protein p130; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A