Abstract: Adiponectin is an endogenous peptide specifically secreted by adipose tissues. Adiponectin exerts its biological effects by binding to its receptor（AdipoR）. Low levels of plasma adiponectin was associated with obesity and insulin resistance，and its degree was associated parallel with insulin resistance. Clinical study showed the decrease of adiponectin level was associated with the occurrence of endometrial cancer. With increase of clinical stage and histological grade, muscular invasion, lymph node metastasis, the expression of AdipoR was significantly decreased, and it was negatively correlated with progression free survival time and survival rate. Adiponectin binding to AdipoR, following to activate downstream of a variety of signal transduction pathways, and also interact with the insulin signaling pathway, and directly led to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis. Therefore, the decreased adiponectin and insulin resistance may be the independent risk factors to promote endometrial cancer.

Key words: Adiponectin, Insulin resistance, Endometrial neoplasms, Signal transduction