Blood steroids are associated with prognosis and fat distribution in endometrial cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nDespite being a hormone dependent cancer, there is limited knowledge regarding the relation between level of steroids in blood and prognosis for endometrial cancer (EC) patients.\n\n\nMETHODS\nIn this study we investigated plasma levels of 19 steroids using liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry in 38 postmenopausal EC patients, 19 with long, and 19 with short survival. We explored if estradiol levels were associated with specific abdominal fat distribution patterns and if transcriptional alterations related to estradiol levels could be observed in tumor samples.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe plasma steroid levels for DHEA, DHEAS, progesterone, 21 OH progesterone and E1S were significantly increased (all p\u202f<\u202f0.05) in patients with long survival compared to short. Estradiol levels were significantly positively correlated with visceral fat percentage (p\u202f=\u202f0.035), and an increased expression of genes involved in estrogen related signaling was observed in tumors from patients with high estradiol levels in plasma.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nSeveral of the identified plasma steroids represent promising biomarkers in EC patients. The association between increased estradiol levels and a high percentage of visceral fat indicates that visceral fat is a larger contributor to estradiol production compared to subcutaneous fat in this population.