Irene Ray

Exploring the Relationship Between Adipocytokines and Endometrial Cancer: Identifying Correlations With Clinico‐Pathological Prognostic Factors

ABSTRACTBackgroundEndometrial cancer, a malignancy linked with obesity, may be influenced by adipocytokines signalling due to chronic inflammation. This study explores the molecular expression patterns of adiponectin, leptin, interleukin6 (IL6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and their receptors in endometrial cancer patients and associations with lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) and other tumour characteristics.MethodsWe analysed mRNA expression levels of the above biomarkers in endometrial cancer tissue using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), comparing them to benign endometrial tissue controls. Additionally, expressions in adipose tissue and lymph nodes were assessed, with correlations drawn between biomarker expression, patient demographics, and tumor characteristics.ResultsUsing qRT‐PCR analysis, endometrial cancer tissues (n = 39) exhibited higher expression levels of adiponectin, leptin, IL6, TNFα, and their receptors, IL6R and TNFRSF1A/B, compared to the calibrator sample, which consisted of five pooled benign endometrial control samples. Intriguingly, the adiponectin receptors, ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2 demonstrated opposing correlations with cancer characteristics such as grade, histology, LVSI, and microcystic elongated and fragmented (MELF) pattern. LVSI was linked to increased levels of markers such as IL6R and ADIPOR2, along with decreased expressions of OBR (leptin receptor) and ADIPOR1, suggesting their potential as surrogate markers for diagnosing LVSI. Notably, higher adiponectin expression was observed in the cancerous lymph nodes of patients with LVSI, contrasting with those without LVSI.ConclusionThis study provides novel insight into differential role of adiponectin receptors in endometrial cancer and the associations of various markers with LVSI, emphasizing the need for tissue‐specific biomarker assessments in determining treatment strategies.

Adipocytokines and disease progression in endometrial cancer: a systematic review

AbstractThe objective of the study was to document the effect of adipocytokines on endometrial cancer progression. A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Embase and Google Scholar was performed for English language articles from January 2000 to December 2020 using the keywords: (Endometrial cancer) AND (progression OR metastasis) AND (adipocytokine OR adiponectin OR leptin OR visfatin OR IL-6 OR TNF-α OR adipokine OR cytokine). Forty-nine studies on adipocytokines have been included in this review. Adiponectin has been linked with anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects on endometrial cancer cells and is associated with a better prognosis. Leptin, visfatin and resistin are linked to the stimulation of endometrial cancer growth, proliferation, invasion and metastasis and are associated with worse prognosis or with a higher grade/stage of endometrial cancer. IL-6, Il-11, IL-31, IL-33, TNF-α, TGF-β1, SDF-1 and CXCR are involved in endometrial cancer cell growth and metastasis or involved in epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) or associated with advanced disease. Adipocytokines have been found to directly impact endometrial cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration. These molecules and their signalling pathways may be used to determine prognosis and course of the disease and may also be exploited as potential targets for cancer treatment and prevention of progression.