RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the performance of endometrial cancer (EC) molecular classification in predicting extrauterine disease after primary surgery alone and in combination with other clinical data available in preoperative setting. METHODS: Retrospective single-center observational study including patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma treated with primary surgery between December 1994 and May 2022. Molecular profiling was performed using immunohistochemistry of p53, MLH1, PMS2, MSH2 and MSH6; and KASP genotyping of the 6 most common mutations of POLE gene. Clinical, pathological and imaging information was reviewed. Logistic regression, regression trees and random forest classification techniques (CART) were performed. RESULTS: We enrolled 658 patients, 47 with POLEmut (7.1%), 234 with MMRd (35.6%), 95 with p53abn (14.4%) and 282 with NSMP (42.8%) tumors. Advanced stage after primary surgery (III-IV FIGO 2009) was diagnosed in 11.7% of patients, p53abn tumors showed increased extrauterine spread (34.1%) and nodal involvement (30.1%) (p < .001). In multivariate analysis, only p53abn subgroup (aOR = 16.0, CI95% = 1.5-165.1) and radiological suspicion of extrauterine disease (aOR = 24.2, CI95% = 12.2-48.2) independently predicted the finding of extrauterine disease after primary surgery. In patients with preoperative uterine-confined disease, deep myometrial and cervical involvement in radiological assessment and p53abn molecular subtype were the best variables to identify patients at-risk of occult extrauterine disease after the staging surgery. CONCLUSION: EC molecular classification is more accurate than histotype or grade in preoperative biopsy to predict advanced disease, and together with imaging tests are the most reliable preoperative information. This work provides an initial framework for using molecular information preoperatively to tailor surgical treatment.
RESUMEN
Death receptor ligand TRAIL is a promising cancer therapy due to its ability to selectively trigger extrinsic apoptosis in cancer cells. However, TRAIL-based therapies in humans have shown limitations, mainly due inherent or acquired resistance of tumor cells. To address this issue, current efforts are focussed on dissecting the intracellular signaling pathways involved in resistance to TRAIL, to identify strategies that sensitize cancer cells to TRAIL-induced cytotoxicity. In this work, we describe the oncogenic MEK5-ERK5 pathway as a critical regulator of cancer cell resistance to the apoptosis induced by death receptor ligands. Using 2D and 3D cell cultures and transcriptomic analyses, we show that ERK5 controls the proteostasis of TP53INP2, a protein necessary for full activation of caspase-8 in response to TNFα, FasL or TRAIL. Mechanistically, ERK5 phosphorylates and induces ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of TP53INP2, resulting in cancer cell resistance to TRAIL. Concordantly, ERK5 inhibition or genetic deletion, by stabilizing TP53INP2, sensitizes cancer cells to the apoptosis induced by recombinant TRAIL and TRAIL/FasL expressed by Natural Killer cells. The MEK5-ERK5 pathway regulates cancer cell proliferation and survival, and ERK5 inhibitors have shown anticancer activity in preclinical models of solid tumors. Using endometrial cancer patient-derived xenograft organoids, we propose ERK5 inhibition as an effective strategy to sensitize cancer cells to TRAIL-based therapies.
