PINCH, PAX-2 and PTEN expression, and the relationship with thecClinical and histopathological prognostic factors In normal endometrium, endometrial Aadenocarcinomas and atypical endometrial hyperplasia

More than 80% of endometrium malignancies which make up the most frequent malignancy of female genital system, consist of endometrioid type adenocarcinomas. It is assumed that these tumors develop on a basis of endometrial hyperplasia. The aim for early diagnosis lead researchers to define the molecular changes which occur during transition from normal endometrium to carcinoma since precancerous foci frequently accompany invasive cancer or show rapid progression even when they are determined in a sole manner. Therefore immunohistochemical markers are needed.In this study 27 proliferative endometrium, 24 complex atypical hyperplasia, 10 complex hyperplasia without atypia, 30 simple hyperplasia without atypia, and 89 endometrioid type endometrial adenocarcinoma cases were enrolled, who were diagnosed between 2005-2011 at the Department of Pathology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine. PTEN, PAX2 and PINCH antibodies were applied immunohistochemically to these cases.Results of immunohistochemical staining revealed that during progression from normal to malignancy, staining distribution and intensity of both PTEN and PAX2 were found to decrease significantly. Expression of PINCH on the other hand was found to be increased distinctly during progression from normal to malignancy which correlated reversely with PAX2 and PTEN expressions. When PTEN, PAX2 and PINCH expressions in endometrioid adenocarcinoma cases were compared with common histopathologic prognostic parameters, a relation between histopathologic grade, angiolymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, stage, myometrial invasion and involvement of corpus cervix margin was not detected.In conclusion, it is assumed that PTEN, PAX2 and PINCH could be involved in endometrial carcinogenesis. However to define the prognostic importance of these markers, studies in larger scale with long-term follow-up could be performed.