Immunohistochemical Study of Estradiol, Epidermal Growth Factor, Transforming Growth Factor Alpha and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in

In a total of 113 cases of endometrial neoplasm, we studied the immunohistochemical expres-sion of estradiol (E2), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGFa), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Positive immunoreactivity of E2 was found in 6 1 % of the neoplasms. E2 immunoreactivity correlated well with high histologic grade and early clin-ical stage. Positive immunoreactivity for ECF or ECFR was found in 25.6 % or 53.1 % of the ne-oplasms, respectively. However, this was unrelated to histologic grade or clinical stage. On the other hand, TGFa immunoreactivity was found in 67 % of endometrial neoplasias and was cor-related with poor histologic grade and advanced stage. Contingency tables indicated a signifi-cant negative association between the status of E2 and that of TGFa. Simultaneous expression of E2, EGF and EGFR, or E2, TGFa and EGFR was found in 6.8 % and 15.9 % of endometrial carcinomas, respectively. These results suggest that a predominant number of endometrial car-cinomas escape autocrine/paracrine growth regulation by EGF and E2 or TGFa and E2, and that TGFa may be involved in the progression of endometrial carcinoma. (Jpn J Clin Oncol 26: 411-416, 1996) Key words: Endometrial neoplasm—Estradiol—Epidermal growth factor—Transforming growth factor alpha—Medroxyprogesterone acetat