Total sialic acid content in endometrial cancer tissue in relation to normal and hyperplastic human endometrium

The aim of this study was to measure the total sialic acid (TSA) content in endometrial cancer tissue and to assess its relationship to clinicopathologic features of the malignancy. Tissue TSA content was measured in 42 women with endometrial cancer, 14 women with endometrial hyperplasia, and 45 women with normal endometrium in the proliferative phase (n = 16) and secretory phase (n = 29) of the menstrual cycle using the Warren procedure. The mean TSA content in endometrial cancer (2.16 micromol/gm) was significantly higher in comparison to normal endometrium in both proliferative (1.23 micromol/gm) and secretory (1.51 micromol/gm) phases. TSA content in the hyperplastic endometrium (1.56 micromol/gm) was higher as compared to the normal endometrium, but the differences were not statistically significant. An increased TSA content in the neoplastic endometrium in relation to the normal endometrium supports the view that the development of endometrial cancer is associated with the increasing content of sialic acid in the tumor tissue.