Long Term Prognostic Implications of Expression of Glucose Transporter-1 and Hexokinase II in Patients with Stage I Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

• Published in: ACTA HISTOCHEMICA ET CYTOCHEMICA Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 147 - 154
• Main Authors: Iida, Tetsuji, Miyazawa, Masaki, Shida, Masako, Kajiwara, Hiroshi, Murakami, Masaru, Yasuda, Masanori, Tsukada, Hitomi, Ikeda, Masae, Hirasawa, Takeshi, Muramatsu, Toshinari, Mikami, Mikio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan JAPAN SOCIETY OF HISTOCHEMISTRY AND CYTOCHEMISTRY 01.01.2012; Japan Science and Technology Agency; Japan Society of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry
• Subjects: glucose transporter-1; hexokinase II; immunoexpression; Regular; uterine leiomyosarcoma; hexokinase II; uterine leiomyosarcoma; glucose transporter-1; immunoexpression
• ISSN: 0044-5991; 1347-5800; 1347-5800
• DOI: 10.1267/ahc.11063

Many malignant epithelial tumors show increased expression of glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) and hexokinase II (HK-II), both of which are involved in glucose metabolism. GLUT-1 levels are often correlated with prognosis in these tumors. The current retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the importance of GLUT-1 and HK-II expression in leiomyosarcoma (LMS), a malignant uterine non-epithelial tumor with a poor prognosis. The subjects were 23 patients with stage I LMS. Expression of GLUT-1 and HK-II was evaluated immunohistochemically in samples removed surgically, and the MIB-1 index was evaluated as a measure of cell proliferation. The association of these results with prognosis was examined. Twenty samples of leiomyoma (LOM), a benign non-epithelial tumor, were used as controls. Immunohistochemical expression was defined as negative staining (–), weak to sporadic staining (1+), and strong staining (2+) per microscopic field, respectively. Malignancy was evaluated in 2000 cells and the MIB-1 index was calculated. Overall survival for LMS was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Of the LMS cases, 12 were GLUT-1-positive (52.2%; 2+: 2, 1+: 10) and 15 were HK-II-positive (65.2%; 2+: 1, 1+: 14). GLUT-1 expression in LMS was significantly correlated with the MIB1 index. The 10-year survival rates were 90.9% and 58.3% in GLUT-1-negative and GLUT-1-positive cases, respectively, and 75.0% and 73.3% in HK-II-positive and HK-II-negative cases, respectively. GLUT-1 expression was significantly correlated with prognosis. Cases of stage I LMS showed a significant correlation between the expression level of GLUT-1 and the MIB-1 index, an indicator of malignancy. GLUT-1-negative cases had a better prognosis than GLUT-1-positive cases, suggesting that GLUT-1 expression is an effective prognostic marker.