Over-expression of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit A7 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 NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit A7, encoded by NDUFA7, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. NDUFA7 was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, in human endometrial cancer, primary tumor expression of NDUFA7 was correlated with overall survival in black patients with high mutational burden. NDUFA7 may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.