난소의 경계성 및 악성 상피종양에서 c-erbB-2, EGFR, p53 발현 및 Ki-67지수에 관한 연구

Abstract

Background : Epithelial ovarian tumor is a heterogenous disease and various biologic and molecular factors are important for its development and progression, including growth rate, metastatic potential, chemo- and radiaosensitivity, and prognosis. The abnormal expression of growth factors and tumor suppressor gene are being actively investigated to determine its role in the development and growth of ovarian cancer. Several evidences support the epidermal growth factor receptor or c-erbB-2 as an adverse prognostic indicator in ovarian carcinoma. The purpose of this study to investigate the prognostic and predictive relevance of immunohistochemically detected c-erbB-2, EGFR, p53 and Ki-67 overexpression in ovarian epithelial tumors. Method : The author analyzed histologic and clinical findings of 52 patients with ovarian carcinoma and 26 patients with ovarian borderline tumor. Immunohistochemical expression for c-erbB-2, EGFR, p53, and Ki-67 was evaluated on paraffin-embedded tissue from primary ovarian tumor. Results : Immunohistochemial expression for c-erbB-2 was noted in 4 cases (7.6%) and for EGFR in 5 cases (9.6%). No significance was found between c-erbB-2 and EGFR expression, and conventional poor prognostic indicators, such as tumor stage and histologic grade. Overexpression of p53 and Ki-67 was correlated with differentiation of tumor and histologic type in epithelial ovarian carcinomas. P53 and Ki-67 overexpression was absent in borderline ovarian tumors, whereas ovarian carcinomas frequently showed overexpreesion of p53 and Ki-67. Conclusion : Immunohistochemical expression for c-erbB-2, EGFR, p53, and Ki-67 was not correlated with prognostic significance in this study. p53 and Ki-67 overexpression may be a marker to predict aggressive behavior, and p53 and Ki-67 immunohistochemical staining may be helpful to differentiate malignant epithelial ovarian tumor from borderline epithelial ovarian tumor. In this series, patients with p53 overexpression tend to have poorer survival, although this difference was not statistically significant. Further study with large scale should be required to clarify the clinical significance of c-erbB-2 and EGFR overexpression in ovarian tumors.