Huiqiao Gao, Qi Lu, Jianxin Zhang

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Jianxin Zhang, Email Jianxin20241031@126.com

Objective: We sought to study the expression of FGFR2 and c-Met and evaluate the correlation between the two proteins in a series of endometrial cancer patients as well as the prognostic significance of the two markers in endometrium carcinoma.
Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer and had undergone surgical treatment in Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University from November 2004 to June 2011 were included in this study. Tissue microarray construction, immunohistochemical staining and scoring were employed to study the expression of FGFR2 and c-Met. SPSS version 22.0 was used to evaluate the correlation between FGFR2 and c-Met expression and the prognosis prediction value of the two markers.
Results: In total, 109 patients were included in this study. The median age was 56 years (ranges, 30– 79). The most common histologic tumor subtype was adenocarcinoma (86.2%). The five-year survival rate was 87.2%. Significantly different FGFR2 expression was observed among patients with different disease stages (p < 0.001), depths of myometrial invasion (p = 0.001) and lymph node status (p < 0.001). C-Met expression was also increased in tissues from patients with advanced stage disease, deep myometrial invasion and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001, p = 0.031 and p < 0.001, respectively). The expression of FGFR2 and c-Met was increased in the group with poorer prognosis (overall survival < 5 years) (p = 0.002 and p = 0.023, respectively). Moreover, a strong positive correlation was observed between FGFR2 and c-Met expression (p < 0.01, r = 0.656). FGFR2 was a significant factor that influence the FIGO stage.
Conclusion: Higher expression of FGFR2 and c-Met is associated with more advanced stage, deeper myometrial invasion and lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer and poorer prognosis. In addition, high expression of FGFR2 is correlated with high c-Met expression.
Plain language summary: This study found that higher levels of two proteins, FGFR2 and c-Met, are linked to more advanced and aggressive forms of endometrial cancer, as well as poorer outcomes for patients. Additionally, the presence of one protein often indicates the presence of the other, suggesting they may work together in the progression of this cancer.

Keywords: endometrial cancer, FGFR2, c-Met, expression and correlation