Significance of the Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Endometrial Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the role of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) in the carcinogenesis and development of endometrial cancer.Methods The expression of COX-2 in endometrial tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry(S-P) method in 20 cases of normal controls,20 cases with atypical proliferative endometrial tissue and 45 cases of endometrial carcinoma.Results The positive expression rates of COX-2 were 15.0%(3/20)、50.0%(10/20)、77.8%(35/45)in normal endometrial tissue,endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma,respectively,showing an increased tendency from normal endometrium to endometrial carcinoma.The positive expression rates of COX-2 had no significant relationship with myometrial invasion,lymph node status or FIGO stage and pathological types of cancers.The positive expression of COX-2 was higher in well differentiated endometrial carcinoma tissues than in moderately and poorly differentiated tissues(89.3% v.s.58.8%,P0.05).Conclusion COX-2 plays an important role in the carcinogensis and development of endometrial carcinoma.The up-regulation of COX-2 expression occurs in the early stage of tumorigenesis of endometrial carcinoma.