Association of ulex europaeus agglutinin I binding with invasion in endometrial carcinoma

Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I), a lectin which specifically binds L-fucose, has been shown to extensively bind endometrial carcinoma cells but not benign endometrial glands. Patterns of UEA-I binding were examined in five cases of uteri containing proliferative endometrium, five cases of endometrial hyperplasia, and 54 cases of endometrioid (typical) carcinoma of the endometrium and correlated with the histologic features of the tumor and its behavior. Whereas proliferative endometrium showed luminal staining only, diffuse cytoplasmic staining was frequently seen in hyperplasia and carcinoma. Carcinomas with a high percentage of tumor cells staining with UEA-I tended to be high-grade with a greater tendency to deep myometrial and vascular invasion than tumors with little or no staining. By univariate survival analysis, the extent of UEA-I binding was found to correlate with patient survival. By multivariate analysis, however, survival correlated most closely with the presence of deep myometrial and vascular invasion, and UEA-I binding was not found to be an independent prognostic indicator. This study suggests that increased fucosylation of proteins in endometrioid cancer cells may play a role in myometrial and vascular invasion.