Significance of BRAF and Nrf2 in evaluation of serous ovarian tumors

Abstract

Background Ovarian carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Many treatment strategies have been developed; however, the prognosis is still poor. This study aims to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of the serine/threonine-protein kinase B-raf (BRAF) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in serous ovarian tumors and to correlate their expression with clinicopathological features of the cases. Materials and methods This uncontrolled retrospective study was performed on 50 cases: benign (n=10), borderline (n=12), and malignant serous ovarian neoplasm (n=28). The malignant serous tumors included nine low-grade cases and 19 high-grade cases. The immunohistochemical expression of Nrf2 and BRAF was correlated with clinicopathological features of prognostic importance. Results The mean of BRAF expression is increased in borderline but it is almost equal for low-grade and high-grade carcinoma cases, which was statistically significant (P Conclusion BRAF and Nrf2 could play a significant role in the step of carcinogenesis and then in progression of serous ovarian tumors.