Over-expression of mannose-P-dolichol utilization defect 1 in human endometrial cancer.
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 and hyperplastic endometrium to endometrial tumors from humans. We identified mannose-P-dolichol utilization defect 1, encoded by MPDU1, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. MPDU1 was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, in human endometrial cancer, primary tumor expression of MPDU1 was correlated with recurrence-free survival in black patients with low mutational burden. MPDU1 may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.