Evaluation of Tissue Expression of Vaspin and Serum Vaspin Concentration as a Prognostic and Risk Factor in Endometrial Cancer

Cells. 2022 Oct 11;11(20):3196. doi: 10.3390/cells11203196.

Abstract

Adipose tissue is a multifunctional endocrine organ. One of the biologically active substances is vaspin, which is part of the serpin family. The purpose of the following study is to determine the possibility of using vaspin as a prognostic and risk factor in endometrial cancer. The study included 127 patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. To determine the value of adipokine, the study used Kaplan-Meier curves to estimate patients survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed simultaneously using the Cox regression model. Tissue expression of vaspin was assessed in patients from the study group (endometrial cancer) and the control group (non-cancerous). We found that higher levels of vaspin are found in obese people, with lower staging (FIGO I and II), lower grading (G1), no LVSI metastases and no lymph node metastases. Higher serum vaspin levels are an independent protective factor for endometrial cancer. We concluded that endometrial cancer patients with serum vaspin concentrations above the median have longer DFS compared to patients with concentrations below the median. Considering multivariate analysis, vaspin concentrations above the median are independent favourable prognostic factors for endometrial cancer. Tissue expression of vaspin cannot be a histological marker to distinguish between cancer and non-cancerous lesions and between different grading levels.

Keywords: endometrial cancer; prognostic factor; risk factor; vaspin.

MeSH terms

  • Adipokines / blood
  • Adipokines / metabolism
  • Adipose Tissue* / metabolism
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / blood
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Prognosis
  • Risk Factors
  • Serpins* / blood
  • Serpins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Adipokines
  • Serpins
  • SERPINA12 protein, human

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.