Lower levels of STAR might lead to decreased de-novo steroid hormone synthesis and tumor differentiation, and lower levels of AKR1B10 to diminished elimination of toxic electrophilic carbonyl compounds in high-grade endometrial cancer.
The human members of the aldo-keto reductase 1B (AKR1B) subfamily, AKR1B1 and AKR1B10, have roles in these processes and can thus be implicated in endometrial cancer.
In addition, AKR1B10 was discovered as an enzyme overexpressed in human liver, cervical and endometrial cancer cases in samples from uterine cancer patients.