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Review Article

Endocrine context and chemotherapy response in endometrial cancer: interfaces with endometrial receptivity and microenvironment remodeling
Baasanjav Batmunkh1
,
Enkhbolor Barsuren1*
1Livestock Technology Advancement Center, School of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Mongolian University of Life Sciences (MULS), Ulaanbaatar 17024, Mongolia
*Corresponding Author
30 September 2026. pp. 278-291
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Abstract

Endometrial cancer arises in a hormonally responsive tissue, but the evidence directly linking endocrine state to cytotoxic drug sensitivity remains fragmented. This narrative review critically integrates studies of estrogen and progesterone-associated signaling, chemotherapy response, endometrial receptivity, and tumor microenvironment remodeling. A focused PubMed search through 5 August 2026, restricted to peer-reviewed, full-text, English-language reports of endometrial tissue or endometrial carcinoma, was used to identify original studies and key reviews, and the evidence was classified as direct, indirect mechanistic, physiologic comparator, or model-development evidence. Direct experimental studies indicate that estrogen-induced glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and clusterin can reduce sensitivity to paclitaxel or cisplatin, progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) can support resistance to doxorubicin and carboplatin-paclitaxel, and AKT-forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) signaling can modify chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. More recent work further suggests that MYH14-dependent Wnt signaling can jointly affect responsiveness to carboplatin, paclitaxel, and progesterone. By contrast, evidence specifically combining endocrine conditioning with camptothecin or other topoisomerase I (TOP1) inhibitors in endometrial cancer is limited; these agents are therefore better treated as mechanistic probes than as clinical anchors. Normal receptivity pathways, including leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)-STAT3 signaling, integrin beta 3 (ITGB3), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-mediated remodeling, provide a useful physiologic comparator but should not be interpreted as validated surrogates of tumor drug response. The review is narrative rather than systematic, and most direct evidence still derives from a small number of two-dimensional cell lines. Future studies should use molecularly characterized models, clinically relevant drug schedules, and tiered readouts that connect intracellular stress signaling with stromal, extracellular-matrix, and tissue-interface outcomes.

Keywords
Chemotherapy sensitivity
Endocrine signaling
Endometrial cancer
Tumor microenvironment
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Information
  • Publisher :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Publisher(Ko) :한경국립대학교 휴머니멀응용과학연구소
  • Journal Title :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Journal Title(Ko) :휴머니멀과학학술지
  • Volume : 2
  • No :3
  • Pages :278-291
  • Received Date : 2026-08-13
  • Revised Date : 2026-09-03
  • Accepted Date : 2026-09-15
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.23341/jhas.2026.2.3.278
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