Enzymes of estrogen metabolism in endometrial cancer.

Activities of estrogen metabolism enzymes (aromatase, 2- and 4-estrogen hydroxylases, catechol-O-methyltransferase, and glutathione transferase) were studied by modern biochemical methods in tumors of patients with endometrial cancer. Relationships between enzyme activities and body weight index, age of menarche, stage of the disease, tumor histotype, differentiation degree, and depth of invasion into the myometrium were detected. The detected relationships between enzyme activities and serum concentrations of estradiol and progesterone and level of estrogen receptors in tumor tissue attest to hormone dependence of aromatase, estrogen hydroxylases, and glutathione transferase.