Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Stem Cells in Endometrial Cancer

Background/Aim: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) are presumed to be key conditions for malignancy. Data concerning their role in endometrial cancer (EC) are scarce. We aimed to investigate the possible link between EMT and CSCs markers in EC samples. Materials and Methods: The study encompassed 156 primary tumour samples. Using RT-qPCR, we analyzed the expression of EMT-related genes, SNAIL and SLUG, and the CSCs marker CD133. Results: SNAIL and SLUG correlated with each other (R=0.33; p=0.00003). All the studied genes were expressed in both normal and malignant endometrial tissue. Decreased SNAIL expression was found to correlate with post-menopausal status (p=0.002). Decreased SLUG expression was associated with shorter overall survival (p=0.01). Conclusion: SLUG expression could serve as a prognostic factor in EC. No correlation between the expression of EMT and CSCs markers was found, suggesting there to be no association between the EMT and CSC phenotype in endometrial cancer.