Comparative analysis of ER and aromatase genes expression in tumorous tissues of mammary gland and endometrium

In this work expression level of ERα and CYP19 genes in tumor and adjacent untransformed tissues of ten women with endometrial cancer and ten women with breast cancer were determined. Comparison of the gene expression profiles has demonstrated the increase of ERα and CYP19 genes expression in six patients with adenocarcinoma of corpus uteri and five patients with breast cancer. It may be the evidence of hormonal origin of malignant tumors in these patients. In tumors of other patients the increase of expression one of these genes only was observed. In one of ten tumors of mammary gland the decrease of CYP19 and ERα genes expression was observed. This fact is evidence of hormone-independent origin of tumor. The results of ERα gene expression are in close agreement with immunohistochemical analysis in 78 % cases. Thus, this investigation confirms the available data to the effect that more than 50 % cases of malignant tumors of mammary gland and endometrium are hormone-dependent.