Expression of keratinocyte growth factor receptor compared with that of epidermal growth factor receptor and erbB-2 in endometrial adenocarcinoma

Immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of keratinocyte growth factor receptor (KGFR) was performed in human endometrial carcinomas from 18 patients and in normal proliferative and secretory endometrium. The level of immunostaining was correlated with the clinico-pathological characteristics of the endometrial carcinoma patients and with the parallel expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and erbB-2. The results showed that KGFR expression increased with the stage of the tumor and that the simultaneous overexpression of the three growth factor receptors appeared to be related to the depth of myometrial invasion. Taken together, these observations suggest that KGFR may represent an additional prognostic indicator in endometrial cancer.