Androgen receptor (AR) expression in normal and cancerous human endometrial tissues detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed at assessing the expression and cellular localisation of the androgen receptor (AR) in normal and malignant human endometrial tissues.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve normal endometrial samples and 25 uterine cancers were studied using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

RESULTS

One of the 12 (8%) normal endometrial samples showed AR PCR-product, whereas 4 of the 25 (16%) cancers displayed AR expression. Tumor tissues and normal tissues did not differ significantly in AR expression (p=0.66; Mann-Whitney U-test). Nuclear staining for AR was positive in 10 of the 25 (40%) cancers, in the glandular cancer cells, in the surrounding stroma and in the myometrium. There was a significant correlation between mRNA RT-PCR AR expression and the IHC AR staining in endometrial tumors (r=0.53; p=0.006).

CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of AR expression in both normal and pathological changes of the human endometrium using the RT-PCR techniques. Our observations confirmed the role of the AR in the stromal regulation of epithelial cells within the neoplastic endometrium.