Gynecologic cancers including cancers of the endometrium are a clinical problem (1-4). We mined published microarray data (5, 6) to discover genes associated with endometrial cancers by comparing transcriptomes of the normal endometrium and endometrial tumors from humans. We identified thymidine kinase 1, encoded by TK1, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. TK1 was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, in human endometrial cancer, primary tumor expression of TK1 was correlated with recurrence-free survival in both black and white patients with low mutational burden. TK1 may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.
Mass action models versus the Hill model: An analysis of tetrameric human thymidine kinase 1 positive cooperativity
