Over-expression of keratin 8 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 keratin 8, encoded by KRT8, as among the most differentially expressed genes, transcriptome-wide, in cancers of the endometrium. KRT8 was expressed at significantly higher levels in endometrial tumor tissues as compared to the endometrium. Importantly, primary tumor expression of KRT8 was correlated with recurrence-free survival in patients with endometrial cancer. KRT8 may be a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of human endometrial cancer.