TGF-[beta]1 Role in Uterine Leiomyoma and Endometrial Polyp: an Insight into Drug-based Treatment instead of Surgical Techniques

Background: Considering the high prevalence of leiomyoma and endometrial polyps, investigating the contributed factors and determining the pathophysiology of these lesions is essential. Target therapy is now an acceptable method in the treatment of some diseases. We aimed to determine the expression of TGF-[beta]1 in endometrial polyps and leiomyoma to discover a drug-based method to overcome surgical treatments. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 55 patients with leiomyoma and 55 patients with polyp were included. Prepared slides from leiomyoma and adjacent myometrium or polyp lesions and adjacent endometrium were obtained and investigated for TGF-[beta]1. Then, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean age of the participants was 40.6[+ or -]5.8 years. Based on the reports, 88.2% (N=97) of patients in the study population had abnormal uterine bleeding with similar distribution among both groups. About 63.5% of the leiomyoma group did not express TGF-[beta]1. However, in normal myometrium, 23.6% had the highest degree of TGF-[beta]1 expression. Polyp tissue did not stain for TGF-[beta]1 in any of the patients. Besides, 89.1% of non-polypoid endometrium did not express TGF-[beta]1. Normal tissue has a significantly greater amount of TGF-[beta]1 than the leiomyoma and endometrial polyp. Conclusion: TGF-[beta]1 is expressed more prominently in normal myometrium with mostly high-intensity features compared to leiomyoma. Moreover, polyps showed no staining for TGF-[beta]1, while normal endometrium showed a low-density staining pattern. Keywords * Cytokines * Polyps * Leiomyoma * Uterus