Abstract:

Objective To investigate the etiology of the endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women.Methods 20 cases of postmenopausal endometrial polyps patients who had not been treated with hormonotherapy were submitted to have a transcervical resection of polyps.These patients had been diagnosed with benign endometrial lesion.18 cases of normal postmenopausal patients served as control group.Peripheral blood steroid hormone level were tested in all patients.The presences of ER,PR and Ki-67 antigen were determined in endometrial samples and polyps by immunohistorchemical method.ER and PR staining index were determined with a computerized image analyzer.Results Peripheral blood steroid hormone level were normal,there were no significant difference between the two groups.In the glandular epithelium,the expressions of the ER in the polyps group and in the postmenopausal were((0.56±)0.07) and(0.43±0.06),respectively(P<0.001),the expressions of PR in the two groups were(0.51±0.04) and(0.35±0.06),respectively(P<0.001),the expressions of Ki-67 in the two groups were(17.1±7.7) and(9.0±5.5),respectively(P<0.05).Conclusion The steroids receptors and Ki-67 antigen play a crucial role in the histopathology of the endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women.There is no relationship between peripheral blood steriond hormone level and postmenopausal polyps.

Key words: postmenopause, endometrial polyp, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Ki-67 antigen