Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 6, 2019; 7(15): 1996-2002
Published online Aug 6, 2019. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i15.1996
Clinical significance and role of up-regulation of SERPINA3 expression in endometrial cancer
Mian-Li Zhou, Fang-Shan Chen, Hui Mao
Mian-Li Zhou, Fang-Shan Chen, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
Hui Mao, Department of Oncology, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhou ML, Chen FS, and Mao H designed the study and wrote the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Southwest Medical University on October 28, 2016 (Research ethics No. CHEC2016-111).
Informed consent statement: All subjects gave informed consent prior to study inclusion.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui Mao, MD, Professor, Department of Oncology, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Southwest Medical University, No. 182, Chunhui Road, Longmatan District, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China. 15196087724@163.com
Telephone: +86-830-2397165
Received: April 28, 2019
Peer-review started: May 7, 2019
First decision: May 30, 2019
Revised: June 19, 2019
Accepted: July 3, 2019
Article in press: July 3, 2019
Published online: August 6, 2019
Processing time: 100 Days and 11.2 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The expression profile of serpin peptidase inhibitor clade A member 3 (SERPINA3) in patients with endometrial cancer has rarely been studied. In the present study, we detected the protein levels of SERPINA3 in patients with endometrial cancer and the correlation between the expression of SERPINA3 and the prognosis for endometrial cancer. The result revealed that SERPINA3 expression was significantly up-regulated in endometrial cancer and was closely correlated with pathological grade, clinical stage, vascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis. These findings indicated that SERPINA3 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for endometrial cancer and as one of the targets for bio-targeted therapy for endometrial cancer.

Research motivation

The results of the present study may provide insight into the application of SERPINA3 as a predictor of clinical outcomes and a potential therapeutic target for endometrial cancer.

Research objectives

The present study aimed to assess the significance of SERPINA3 levels in patients with endometrial cancer.

Research methods

The present study examined tissue samples which were available from patients with endometrial cancer and patients with normal endometrial tissues. Tissue microarrays were constructed and immunohistochemical staining was performed. The expression of SERPINA3 mRNA was detected by quantitative PCR. The data were analyzed with SPSS19.0 software.

Research results

We found that SERPINA3 expression was higher in endometrial cancer compared to normal tissues and up-regulated SERPINA3 was closely correlated with pathological grade, clinical stage, vascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer.

Research conclusions

Assessment of tumor vs normal tissues showed that the expression of SERPINA3 was up-regulated in endometrial cancer. The SERPINA3 protein level in endometrial cancer cells was associated with pathological grade, clinical stage, vascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis, rather than with the age range at which women experienced menopause. SERPINA3 has the potential to be used as a biomarker for prognosis and a specific target for targeted therapy in patients with endometrial carcinomas.

Research perspectives

Further studies are warranted to improve our understanding of the role of SERPINA3 in endometrial cancer.