Differences inautophagy-associated mRNAs in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis and gynecologic cancers

Endometriosis and gynecologic cancer show similar patterns of invasion. Little is known about the roles of autophagy in endometriosis and, to date, the expression of autophagy-associated mRNAs has not been compared in patients with endometriosis and gynecologic cancers. This study therefore compared the levels of expression of autophagy-associated mRNAs in patients with endometriosis and gynecologic cancers. The levels of autophagy mRNAs, including those encoding mTOR, P13KC3, Beclin-1, Bcl2, LC3 II, FLIP, Rubicon, BIRC2 and BIRC5, were measured by real time polymerase chain reaction in peritoneal fluid of 27 patients with benign masses (control group), 42 patients with endometriosis, and 43 patients with gynecologic (ovarian, uterine, and cervical) cancers. Findings in the three groups were compared. Autophagy mRNAs were present in all samples from patients with endometriosis and gynecologic cancers. The levels of PI3K, FLIP, and Rubicon mRNAs were significantly higher in the endometriosis than in the control group.