High Expressions of Lgr5 and ALDH1 in Primary Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Correlate with Advanced Tumor Stage and Grade as well as Poor Prognosis of the Patients

Abstract

Background: The aim of our study was to investigate the clinical role of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) and leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) expressions in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and their prognostic significance. Methods: One hundred primary EOC samples were obtained for immunohistochemical analysis of ALDH1 and Lgr5 expressions. Correlation analysis was performed between ALDH1 or Lgr5 and clinical factors. Results: High expression of ALDH1 and Lgr5 was identified in 71 and 55 cases of EOC tissues, respectively. The ALDH1 and Lgr5 expressions in EOC tissues were significantly higher as compared to the normal ovaries and benign ovarian tumors. High expression of ALDH1 and Lgr5 was strongly correlated with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages, higher tumor grades, and poor overall survival of the patients. Conclusions: Lgr5 and ALDH1 were highly expressed in EOC tissues, and correlated with different FIGO operation-pathological stages and tumor grades, clinical outcome, and with each other. The combined use of ALDH1 and Lgr5 might be useful for the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of EOC patients.