May Cathepsin D Immunoreactivity Be Used as a Prognostic Factor in Endometrial Carcinomas? A Comparative Immunohistochemical Study

Objective. To investigate the prognostic value of immunohistochemical detection of cathepsin D and the association between cathepsin D and established prognostic factors in endometrial carcinoma. Methods. Cathepsin D immunoreactivity was determined by an immunohistochemical technique in a series of 79 patients with surgical stage I–III primary endometrial carcinoma. Results. Of 79 tissue specimens, 48 (61%) showed a positive reaction for cathepsin D. A significant correlation between cathepsin D and histological grade was found (P < 0.05). The other established clinicopathological prognostic factors were not associated with cathepsin D. There was not any significant difference in prognosis between the positive cases and negative cases for cathepsin D (P > 0.05). In the univariate analysis cathepsin D immunoreactivity did not show significant prognostic value for overall survival (P > 0.05). The multivariate analysis also showed that cathepsin D was not related to patient outcome (P = 0.24, relative risk = 0.34, 95% confidence interval = 0.05–2.09). Conclusions. Our results suggest that cathepsin D immunoreactivity may not be of prognostic value but more studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between its immunoreactivity in tumor cells and in other cells.