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Background. To determine the biologic difference between normal endometrium and endometrial hyperplasias, the authors assessed the expression of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) in the subjects before and after oral administration of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) (Hysron-H, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Methods. The authors studied the expression of ER and PR in pathologic conditions of the endometrium such as cystic, adenomatous, and atypical hyperplasias before and after MPA treatment, 600 mg daily, for 8-14 weeks, and compared this expression with that of normal endometrium. Results. Stromal and epithelial components of the normal endometrium in the proliferative phase were positive for ER and PR. In the secretory phase and after MPA treatment, the epithelial component showed either negative or faint staining for ER and PR, but the stromal component showed positive staining for PR and negative or faint staining for ER. All hyperplasias exhibited ER and PR in the stromal and epithelial components, although the intensity of the staining was variable in atypical hyperplasias. After MPA treatment, in the epithelial component of cystic and adenomatous hyperplasias, downregulation of PR was prominent, but many cells continued to express ER. The epithelial component usually was surrounded by PR-positive decidual cells. In atypical hyperplasia, many cells continued to express ER and PR in the epithelial component surrounded by both ER and PR positive stromal cells after MPA treatment. Conclusions. Among the pathologic conditions of the endometrium, cystic and adenomatous hyperplasias have mechanisms of down-regulation of PR but not ER in the glandular component after MPA treatment, whereas in atypical hyperplasia, down-regulation of ER and PR does not occur in the epithelial component. Compared with normal endometrium, the majority of endometrial hyperplasias have an impairment of down-regulation of ER in the epithelial component by MPA treatment, and atypical hyperplasia has an impairment of down-regulation of ER and PR. Endometrial hyperplasias seem to have an abnormality of down-regulatory mechanisms of sex steroid receptors in the epithelial component when treated with exogenous progesterone. Cancer 1994;74:2321-8.

Background. The c-erbB-2 (HER-2/neu) protein is a membrane glycoprotein growth factor receptor showing molecular homology with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In endometrial carcinomas, little is known about the relationship between the expression of c-erbB-2 protein and that of EGFR. Methods. The immunohistochemical reactivity of monoclonal antibodies against both of these proteins was examined in 34 endometrial carcinomas, and the presence or absence of correlation with the clinicopathologic features or with the immunohistochemical expression of sex steroid receptors (estrogen receptor [ER] and progesterone receptor [PR]) was analyzed. Results. Of the 34 patients, 22 (64.7%) had c-erbB-2 protein-positive and EGFR-negative tumor, and 8 (23.5%) had tumor positivity for both proteins. Four patients had tumors negative for both proteins. ER or PR positivity was found in 24 (70.6%) of the 34 patients. Intense immunostaining for c-erbB-2 protein was found in 5 (14.7%) of the 34 patients but was not correlated with the stage or grade of differentiation in endometrial carcinoma. However, expression of EGFR in addition to c-erbB-2 protein was more frequently observed with advancing stage of disease and was inversely correlated with the grade of differentiation and with the expression of ER or PR of the tumor. Conclusion. The expression of EGFR, in addition to that of c-erbB-2 protein, is an important event that presumably is linked with progression or with a poorly differentiated state of endometrial carcinomas.

Adult T-cell leukemia-derived factor (ADF), originally defined as an interleukin-2 receptor inducer, is a human thioredoxin homologue. ADF is detected in many malignant tissues and has a growth-promoting effect on transformed cells. In this study, ADF expression was examined immunohistochemically in human liver cell lines and liver tissues, and its growth-promoting effect was tested on human hepatoma cells. On three liver cell lines --PLC/PRF/5, HepG2, and Chang liver cells--ADF stained positively and also was detected by immunoblotting. ADF had strong staining in the fetal liver (n = 8), although it was faint in the normal adult liver (n = 6). In hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 25), ADF expression generally was enhanced and was very strong in 52% (13 of 25) of the cases, although it was moderate in cases of chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis. ADF augmented the growth of PLC/PRF/5 cells and showed an additive effect with epidermal growth factor. These results indicate possible involvement of ADF in cell activation and growth of hepatocytes, as is the case with lymphocytes. Cancer 1992; 69:2091-2097.

Adenocarcinomas of the uterine cervix are less common than squamous cell carcinomas; the former type constitutes roughly 3 to 6 percent of all primary cervical cancers. In adenocarcinoma, the prognosis is thought to be worse than in squamous cell carcinoma, primarily due to the greater chance of metastasis (spreading of the cancer). Mucin, which is a set of glycoproteins and polysaccharides, is secreted by a variety of different cancers, as well as by some normal tissues. Cervical adenocarcinomas are among those tumors which can secrete mucin, and an investigation was undertaken to determine if the secretion of mucin is related to the invasiveness of cervical adenocarcinoma. The study was based on surgical specimens obtained from 35 patients with cervical adenocarcinoma. In 14 of those cases, or 40 percent, mucin leakage could be identified. In 10 of the 14 patients with mucin leakage, cancer cells had already migrated to the local lymph nodes, as opposed to only 5 of the 21 patients who did not have mucin leakage. The difference between the groups was statistically significant. Although this significance does not necessarily indicate a causal role, it is possible that the secretion of mucin into the stroma, or supporting tissues of the cervix and uterus, may provide a superior environment for the migration of cells from the original tumor into the lymph nodes. Histologically, mucin secretion was more frequently observed in tumors with greater depths of invasion into the uterine wall. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)