Over-expression of nucleolar and spindle associated protein 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 endometrium and endometrial tumors from humans. We identified nucleolar and spindle associated protein 1, encoded by NUSAP1, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. NUSAP1 was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, primary tumor expression of NUSAP1 was correlated with recurrence-free survival in patients with endometrial cancer. NUSAP1 may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.