Prognostic Significance of Amino Acid Transporters in Endometrial Cancer
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Chair of Gynecology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 33 Polna Street, 60-535 Poznań, Poland
- 2Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-704 Poznań, Poland
- 3Student Scientific Society, Faculty of Medicine, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 10 Fredry Street, 61-701 Poznań, Poland
- 4National Medical Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
- 5Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
- 6Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 10 Fredry Street, 61-701 Poznań, Poland
Abstract
Background: Identification of high-risk patients with endometrial cancer (EC) remains challenging despite advances in molecular profiling. Methods: We comprehensively analyzed the RNA expression of 18 amino acid transporters (AATs) in 373 EC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Results: Our clustering analysis based on AAT expression identified a patient group with a significantly worse prognosis. Sideroflexin family (SFXN1, SFXN5), glutamine (SLC38A1, SLC38A3), glycine (SLC6A9) transporters, and the heavy-chain subunit of heteromeric AATs (SLC3A2) were elevated in poorly differentiated tumors. In contrast, the transporter of small neutral amino acids (SLC1A4) and proline/imino-acid transporter (SLC6A20) were enriched in lower-grade disease. SFXN1 and SLC38A1 were also higher in advanced (III/IV) FIGO stages. AAT expression differed across molecular subtypes, with SFXN5, SLC38A1, SLC38A3, and SLC3A2 associated with the copy-number-high profile. In survival analysis, we demonstrated that SLC38A3, SFXN4, and SLC3A2 were associated with shorter disease-free survival, and SLC38A1, SLC38A3, and SFXN1 with worse overall survival, whereas SLC1A4, SLC6A20, and the taurine transporter (SLC6A6) were related to favorable outcomes. Conclusions: These findings highlight AAT expression as a potential marker of EC aggressiveness and prognosis and suggest that integrating metabolic features with molecular classification may improve risk stratification and identify potential therapeutic targets.
Related
- Apparent diffusion coefficient values on MRI as biomarkers for pre operative prediction of prognostic factors in endometrial cancer
- Prognostic Significance of CD47 and DHX9 in Metastatic Rectal Cancer
- Prognostic significance of CCT5 in breast cancer and its regulatory mechanisms in promoting tumorigenesis
- Treatment-Free Interval as a Prognostic Factor for Survival Outcomes in Patients with Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer Treated with Pembrolizumab Plus Lenvatinib: A Multi-Institutional Real-World Cohort Study
- Prognostic Significance of p53 Immunohistochemical Expression and Molecular Characterization of TP53 Variants in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
BibTeX
@article{zaborowski2026prognostic,
title = {{Prognostic Significance of Amino Acid Transporters in Endometrial Cancer}},
author = {Mikołaj Piotr Zaborowski and Łukasz Ciecierski and Piotr Tyburski and Magdalena Nadolna and Marta Brygida Szczygieł and Jędrzej Sikora and Mateusz Szot and Stefan Malewski and Marcin Iwanicki and Kinga Piątek-Bajan and Jarosław Lewandowski and Cezary Miedziarek and Michał Potograbski and Nikodem Horst and Ewa Nowak-Markwitz},
journal = {Cancers},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/cancers18203404},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/18/20/3404},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prognostic Significance of Amino Acid Transporters in Endometrial Cancer
AU - Mikołaj Piotr Zaborowski
AU - Łukasz Ciecierski
AU - Piotr Tyburski
AU - Magdalena Nadolna
AU - Marta Brygida Szczygieł
AU - Jędrzej Sikora
AU - Mateusz Szot
AU - Stefan Malewski
AU - Marcin Iwanicki
AU - Kinga Piątek-Bajan
AU - Jarosław Lewandowski
AU - Cezary Miedziarek
AU - Michał Potograbski
AU - Nikodem Horst
AU - Ewa Nowak-Markwitz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Cancers
DO - 10.3390/cancers18203404
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/18/20/3404
AB - Background: Identification of high-risk patients with endometrial cancer (EC) remains challenging despite advances in molecular profiling. Methods: We comprehensively analyzed the RNA expression of 18 amino acid transporters (AATs) in 373 EC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Results: Our clustering analysis based on AAT expression identified a patient group with a significantly worse prognosis. Sideroflexin family (SFXN1, SFXN5), glutamine (SLC38A1, SLC38A3), glycine (SLC6A9) transporters, and the heavy-chain subunit of heteromeric AATs (SLC3A2) were elevated in poorly differentiated tumors. In contrast, the transporter of small neutral amino acids (SLC1A4) and proline/imino-acid transporter (SLC6A20) were enriched in lower-grade disease. SFXN1 and SLC38A1 were also higher in advanced (III/IV) FIGO stages. AAT expression differed across molecular subtypes, with SFXN5, SLC38A1, SLC38A3, and SLC3A2 associated with the copy-number-high profile. In survival analysis, we demonstrated that SLC38A3, SFXN4, and SLC3A2 were associated with shorter disease-free survival, and SLC38A1, SLC38A3, and SFXN1 with worse overall survival, whereas SLC1A4, SLC6A20, and the taurine transporter (SLC6A6) were related to favorable outcomes. Conclusions: These findings highlight AAT expression as a potential marker of EC aggressiveness and prognosis and suggest that integrating metabolic features with molecular classification may improve risk stratification and identify potential therapeutic targets.
SN - 2072-6694
ER -