Upregulated keratin 15 links to the occurrence of lymphovascular invasion, stromal cervical invasion as well as unfavorable survival profile in endometrial cancer patients

Abstract

Keratin 15 (KRT15) overexpression links with tumor initiation, metastasis, and poor survival in several solid carcinomas. While its clinical relevance is scarcely reported in endometrial cancer (EC). Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the abnormal expression of KRT15 and its correlation with clinical characteristics, survival in EC patients. Totally, 135 surgical EC patients were enrolled. KRT15 protein expression in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor and adjuvant tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining; meanwhile, KRT15 mRNA expression in fresh-frozen tumor and adjacent tissues was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. KRT15 protein and mRNA expressions were higher in tumor tissue compared with adjacent tissue (both P.05). KRT15 protein high was marginally correlated with poor accumulating disease-free survival (DFS) (P =.091) and overall survival (OS) (P =.059); meanwhile, the correlation of KRT15 mRNA expression with accumulating DFS (P =.212) and OS (P =.092) was even weaker. However, multivariate Cox's regressions showed that tumor KRT15 protein (high vs low) was independently correlated with poor DFS (P =.045) and OS (P =.043). KRT15 is abnormally increased in EC tissue, meanwhile, its upregulation links to the occurrence of lymphovascular invasion, stromal cervical invasion, and poor prognosis in EC patients.