Abstract
Endometrial cancer with lymph node metastasis shows poor prognosis, while the
biomarker to predict the metastasis is lacking. The relative mRNA or protein
expression of cyclin D1 (CCND1) and autophagy-related molecules were detected in
real-time PCR and Western blot. Correlation analysis was applied to identify any
significant patterns, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was performed
to assess the prediction value. CCND1 vector was transfected in Ishikawa (ISK)
cells, and the relative expression of autophagy-related molecules was detected
with Western blot. CCND1 was overexpressed in endometrial cancer and correlated
with lymph node metastasis. ROC analysis found that CCND1 had a predictive value
to discriminate tumors from normal tissues (cut off=1.455; sensitivity,
71%; specificity, 84%; area under curve (AUC) 0.82;
p<0.001) and had a predictive value to indicate metastasis (cut
off=1.871; sensitivity, 54.17%; specificity, 75%; AUC
0.674; p=0.003). Increased BECLIN1 (r=0.39, p<0.001) and
ATG5 (r=0.41, p<0.001) expression were positively correlated to
CCND1. On the other hand, the relative protein expression of CCND1, BECLIN1,
ATG5, ATG7, and LC3 I/II were also increased in tumor tissues. CCND1
overexpressed ISK cells showed upregulated BECLIN1, ATG5, ATG7, and LC3
I/II expression. CCND1 promoted autophagy may contribute to lymph node
metastasis in endometrial cancer.
Key words
endometrial cancer - metastasis - autophagy
