ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the frequency of KRAS mutation in mucinous epithelial lesions of the endometrium, and analyze the correlation between KRAS mutation and the clinicopathologic features.@*Methods@#The cohort included forty-three cases of mucinous epithelial lesions of the endometrium selected from July 2015 to October 2017 from Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, and 22 control cases. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Polymerase chain reaction amplification for KRAS exons 2 and 3 was performed, followed by sequencing using capillary electrophoresis. The Fisher exact test was used to compare the prevalence of KRAS mutation among the different groups.@*Results@#The patients′age ranged from 33 to 77 years [mean (55.12±9.34) years, median 55 years]. None of the eight cases of endometrial hyperplasia with mucinous differentiation without atypia showed KRAS mutation. The frequency of KRAS mutations was 1/10 in endometrial atypical hyperplasia, 1/12 in endometrioid carcinoma, 4/11 in endometrial atypical hyperplasia with mucinous differentiation (EAHMD), 6/15 in endometrioid carcinoma with mucinous differentiation (ECMD) and 8/9 in mucinous carcinoma (MC), respectively. The differences were statistically significant between MC versus EC (P<0.01) and MC versus ECMD (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The high frequency of KRAS mutation in EAHMD, ECMD and MC indicates that KRAS mutational activation is implicated in the pathogenesis of endometrial mucinous carcinoma.