Significance of E-cadherin and KI67 expression in ovarian serous tumors

Abstract

Background Ovarian serous carcinoma (OSC) is the most common subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer, accounting for ∼50–60% of all cases. The prognosis for OSC patients depends largely on tumor grade, stage, and prognostic markers such as E-cadherin and KI67. Aim To study the diagnostic and prognostic values of E-cadherin and KI67 expression in ovarian serous tumors. Materials and methods E-cadherin and KI67 immunostaining was performed on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 50 ovarian serous tumors (12 cases benign, eight cases borderline, and 30 cases of OSC). Results E-cadherin was expressed in all benign ovarian serous tumors, whereas it was expressed in only six (75%) cases of borderline tumors and in eight (26.7%) cases of OSC. The proliferation rate evaluated by KI67 expression in the serous cells was found to be high in 21 (70%) cases of OSC compared with two (25%) cases of borderline tumors, whereas none of the benign tumors showed KI67 expression. When taken together, E-cadherin and KI67, statistically significant differences were documented between benign and malignant serous tumors, but this was not evident between borderline and the other two groups. For OSCs, a statistically significant decrease in E-cadherin expression was observed with an increase in tumor grade and advanced stage. Conversely, a statistically significant increase in KI67 expression was observed only with an increase of tumor grade. Conclusion Study of E-cadherin and KI67 expression can be of value in differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian serous tumors. The expression of both markers taken together may be of value in predicting the biologic behavior of the tumor.