Apoptotic susceptibility of epithelial cells is known to be regulated by cell adhesions to basement membranes. In this study differences in anticancer drug-sensitivities of early and advanced endometrial adenocarcinomas were examined by using highly-differentiated human endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line, HHUA, whose apoptotic susceptibility was hypothesized to be modulated by extracellular matrices. The cells express high levels of laminin receptors and laminin suppressed Fas-mediated apoptosis of the cells. However laminin did not show any effect on apoptotic susceptibility to 4 anticancer drugs. These results suggest that there is little variation in drug-sensitivity associated with disruption of endometrial stromal tissue, and that pathological staging of endometrial carcinoma is not likely to have any relation to drug sensitivity.