SPECIFICS OF EXPRESSION OF ESTROGEN, PROGESTERONE AND ANDROGEN RECEPTORS IN HEREDITARY AND SPORADIC OVARIAN CARCINOMAS

Abstract

Background. Ovarian cancer is a complex heterogenic disease with various clinical and morphological subtypes. Most ovarian neoplasms express estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and androgen (AR) receptors, but unlike the situation with breast cancer, these data are not currently used in clinical practice. Purpose of research. To study the prognostic value of morphological and some immunohistochemical markers in ovarian carcinoma and to establish unfavorable variants of sex steroid hormones expression, which require individualization of treatment. Material and methods. Using immunohistochemical methods, we assessed the expression of receptors for estrogens, progesterone and androgens in ovarian carcinoma samples obtained from 79 patients. We studied the relationship of neoplasm receptor status with survival, disease stage, neoplasm differentiation, BRCA1 status, patient age, type of treatment, hypothesizing that the level of receptor expression and disease prognosis will differ in subgroups. Results. Receptor expression and its predictive value were assessed separately for each immunohistochemical marker. As many as 32 neoplasms were ER-positive (40.5%), 13 (16.5%) were PR-positive, and 29 (40%) were AR- positive. The survival curves for all patients with different expression of hormone receptors in the neoplasm were identical and, when compared, demonstrated a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 19 months and a median overall survival (OS) of 37 months. An improved prognosis was observed in patients with AR-positive neoplasms. A positive effect on the prognosis occurred in the absence of ER expression in the neoplasm. The medians of PFS and OS with ER-negative neoplasm status in these groups were more than 6 months higher. Conclusion. The analysis of morphological, clinical and immunohistochemical data and their impact on the prognosis showed similar results in all subgroups. An improved prognosis was observed in patients with ER-negative and RA-positive neoplasms. Thus, our study established the impact of ER and AR expression in ovarian carcinoma on the prognosis for life. Determination of the receptor status of the ovarian neoplasm will allow stratification of patients into groups according to this characteristic and further studies of the effectiveness of hormonal therapy in ovarian carcinoma.