Abstract

The author examined expression of tumor-related antigens, such as p53 tumor supressor protein, c-myc, TGF-alpha, and TGF-beta proteins in 75 cases of surgically resected epithelial ovarian tumors. Peroxidase immunohistochemistry was used to determine the frequency of expression, the relationship among expression of these antigens and histopathological spectrums, and clinical stage, and their potential prognostic significance. The results are summarized as follows. A positive correlation was found between expression of p53(P=0.02), c-myc(P=0.03), and TGF-alpha(P=0.001) and histological degrees of malignancy(benign, borderline, or malignant) in epithelial ovarian tumors. A significant correlation was found between expression of p53 and histological degrees of malignancy in serous ovarian tumors(P=0.003) and mucinous tumors (P=0.049). A significant correlation was also found between expression of c-myc and the histological grade of serous carcinomas(P=0.02). A correlation between expression of these antigenic proteins and clinical stage of epithelial ovarian tumors was not demonstrated. Expression of p53 and c-myc was closely correlated with expression of TGF-alpha irrespective of the histological degrees of malignancy and type of epithelial ovarian tumors(0.4 < or = K < or = 0.7). The results of this study support the ideas that expression of c-myc and TGF-alpha might be a useful prognostic indicator in human ovarian carcinomas, and expression of p53 could be another indicator of prognosis, as the expression of p53 is characteristic in that the expression is mostly seen in invasive ovarian carcinomas.

• Keywords: Epithelial ovarian tumor;p53;c-myc;TGF-alpha;TGF-beta;Immunohistochemistry