Co-expression of survivin, c-erbB2, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2): prognostic value and survival of endometrial cancer patients

Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-expression of survivin, c-erbB2, and COX-2 in endometrial cancer tissues and evaluate its prognostic significance in endometrial cancer Methods Tumor tissue biopsies from 110 patients with primary untreated endometrial carcinomas were studied by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis evaluated correlation of antigen expression with tumor stage, grade, myometrial invasion, and histologic type. Association with disease outcome was also investigated Results The results showed that expression of the three antigens was independently associated with histological grade, disease stage, and myometrial invasion. Clinicopathological parameters were also associated with the number of antigens expressed by each tumor, the expression of more antigens correlating with advanced stage disease and deep myometrial invasion. In a 10-year follow-up, patients with tumors expressing more of these three antigens had significantly lower survival rate that those with smaller expression score Conclusions Our results indicate that the co-expression score has independent prognostic value for endometrial cancer.