Aberrant nuclear β-catenin distribution does not prognosticate recurrences of endometrioid endometrial cancers - A retrospective single-institutional study

Objective: Aberrant β-catenin distribution has been theorized as a predictive biomarker for recurrence in early stage, low grade endometrioid endometrial cancer.

Methods: This retrospective single-institution cohort study reviewed 410 patients with endometrial cancer from May 2018 to May 2022. Only endometrioid histology was included. Demographic and clinicopathological data were collected from the medical records. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions, and sensitivity analyses for early stage, low grade and no specific molecular profile (NSMP) tumors were performed.

Results: 297 patients were included for analysis. Most patients were over 60 years old, White, and with a BMI >30 and early stage low grade disease. Aberrant β-catenin distribution was found in 135 patients (45.5%) and wild type membranous β-catenin distribution in 162 (54.5%). While TP53 mutation correlated with endometrial cancer recurrence in this cohort (OR = 4.78), aberrant β-catenin distribution did not correlate in the overall population (OR = 0.75), the early stage low grade cancers (OR = 0.84), or the NSMP group (OR = 1.41) on univariate or multivariate analysis. No correlation between β-catenin distribution and local (OR = 0.61) or distant recurrences (OR = 0.90) was detected.

Conclusions: Aberrant β-catenin distribution did not significantly correlate with recurrence in endometrioid endometrial cancer, nor in the early stage, low grade and NSMP sub-cohorts.