Prognostic significance of smac/DIABLO in endometrioid endometrial cancer

• Main Authors: Bozena Dobrzycka, Slawomir J. Terlikowski, Piotr S. Bernaczyk, Magdalena Garbowicz, Jacek Niklinski, Lech Chyczewski, Marek Kulikowski
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Via Medica 2010-04-01
• Series: Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
• Subjects: endometrioid endometrial cancer; smac/DIABLO; prognosis
• Online Access: http://www.fhc.viamedica.pl/darmowy_pdf.phtml?indeks=128&indeks_art=1292

Apoptosis may occur via a death receptor-dependent or independent (mitochondrial) pathway. The mitochondrialpathway is regulated by small molecules, such as smac/Diablo, which activates caspase cascades. This study examinedsmac/DIABLO expression in 76 patients with endometrioid endometrial cancers. Presence of smac/DIABLO was quantifiedby Western blot analysis using nonfixed fresh frozen tissues. Its appearance was found in 55 (72%) of examined tumors.Smac/DIABLO expression significantly correlated with tumor grade (p<0.001). Patients with positive smac/DIABLOtumors had a longer disease-specific survival when compared with those with negative tumors in the 10-year follow-up(p=0.043). The study demonstrated that negative smac/DIABLO expression was a poor prognostic sign.