# Association of insulin-like growth factor II mrna-binding protein 3 (IMP3) expression with prognostic and morphological factors in endometrial cancer

## TL;DR

The study finds that IMP3 protein levels are higher in aggressive endometrial cancer types and linked to worse outcomes, suggesting it could help predict cancer prognosis.

## Contribution

The study identifies IMP3 as a potential biomarker for poor prognosis in endometrial cancer.

## Key findings

- IMP3 expression was significantly higher in serous carcinoma compared to endometrioid carcinoma.
- IMP3 was associated with worse prognostic factors like poor differentiation, advanced staging, and metastasis.
- IMP3 expression was significantly higher in endometrial tumors compared to benign controls.

## Abstract

Endometrial cancer (EC) is a heterogeneous disease with recurrence rates ranging from 15 to 20%. The discrimination of cases with a worse prognosis aims, in part, to reduce the length of surgical staging in cases with a better prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between Insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3) expression and prognostic and morphological factors in EC.

This retrospective, cross-sectional, analytical study included 79 EC patients - 70 endometrioid carcinoma (EEC) and 9 serous carcinoma (SC) - and 74 benign endometrium controls. IMP3 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry-based TMA (Tissue Microarray), and the results were associated with morphological and prognostic factors, including claudins 3 and 4, estrogen and progesterone receptors, TP53, and KI67.

IMP3 expression was significantly higher in SC compared to EEC in both extent (p<0.001) and intensity (p=0.044). It was also significantly associated with worse prognostic factors, including degree of differentiation (p=0.024, p<0.001), staging (p<0.001; p<0.001) and metastasis (p=0.002; p<0.001). IMP3 expression was also significant in extent (p=0.002) in endometrial tumors compared with controls. In addition, protein TP53 and KI67 showed significant associations in extent and intensity, respectively.

IMP3 expression was associated with worse prognostic factors studied. These findings suggest that IMP3 may be a potential biomarker for EC poorer prognosis.