Over-expression of phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis class F 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 endometrium and endometrial tumors from humans. We identified phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis class F, encoded by PIGF, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. PIGF was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, in human endometrial cancer, primary tumor expression of PIGF was correlated with overall survival in black and in white patients with high mutational burden. PIGF may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.