Expression and prognostic role of ADP-ribosylation factor 6 in human endometrial carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression and prognostic role of ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) in human endometrial carcinoma. Methods 51 endometrial carcinoma tissues and matched tumor-adjacent tissues were collected from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2011 in People’s Hospital of Linzi District of Zibo City and Penglai People’s Hospital. mRNA expression of ARF6 was detected by qRT-PCR, and the protein expression of ARF6 was detected by immunohistochemistry. The correlation between ARF6 and clinicopathological features was analyzed by chi-square test, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curves were drawn to describe the prognostic effects of ARF6 expression. Results Both mRNA and protein expression of ARF6 were down-regulated in endometrial carcinoma tissues than those in matched tumor-adjacent tissues (P<0.05) . Positive expression of ARF6 was associated with lymphatic metastasis (P<0.05) and advanced TNM stage (Ⅲ+Ⅳ, P<0.05) . Both the 3-year overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate were lower in ARF6 positive expression group than in ARF6 negative expression group (P<0.05) . Conclusion Positive expression of ARF6 in human endometrial carcinoma is related to the malignant clinicopathological features and poor prognosis. Key words: ARF6; Endometrial carcinoma