The role of 5α-reductase type 1 associated with intratumoral dihydrotestosterone concentrations in human endometrial carcinoma

Endometrial carcinoma, especially endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma, is an estrogen-dependent tumor that is similar to breast cancer. Androgen is closely associated with other steroid hormones, but its correlation with endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma remains largely unclear. We previously demonstrated the expression of the androgen receptor, 5α-reductase type 1, and 5α-reductase type 2 in endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma tissue, but androgen action and its correlation with prognosis are unknown. In this study, we measured the tissue and serum concentrations of androgen and performed immunohistochemical analyses of androgen-associated factors in 41 patients. In 86 additional patients, we performed the same immunohistochemical analyses to identify correlations associated with prognosis. We found that 5α-reductase type 1 was associated with intratumoral dihydrotestosterone concentrations, and it was an independent prognostic factor in endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma. The poor prognosis of patients negative for both androgen receptor and 5α-reductase type 1 suggests that androgens have inhibitory effects on tumor growth.