MEOX1 is a risk factor for unfavorable prognosis in human endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma

Background: Mesenchyme homeobox 1(MEOX1) is a homeobox transcription factor. Although MEOX1 has an impact on cancer, no studies investigated its expression in human endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma (EEA). This study aim to check the expression level of MEOX1 and detect its role in unfavorable prognosis. Methods: We used Western blot analysis by fresh frozen tissues and Immunohistochemical (IHC) method to detect the protein levels of MEOX1. Results: MEOX1 expression at the protein levels in EEA was gradually higher than that in normal group and benign hyperplastic endometrium group (both P < 0.001). The high expression of MEOX1 was correlated with depth of myometrial invasion, lymfpho-vascular space involvement, FIGO stage，lymph node metastasis and histological grade by univariate survival analysis. MEOX1 high-expression status in EEA was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) by Multivariate survival analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that MEOX1 expression was related to RFS and OS. Compared with the high expression MEOX1group,the low expression MEOX1 group had longer RFS and OS (both P < 0.001). Conclusion: MEOX1 may be a new potential biomarker for prognosis and recurrence in human EEA.