The potential mechanism of chemosensitive difference between 2 types of ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: To study the potential molecular mechanism of chemosensitive difference between human malignant epithelial and germ cell tumor of the ovary by testing the expression of p53 (mutation), Bcl-2, topoisomerase II alpha (Topo II alpha).

METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on paraffin embedded tumor tissue microarray from malignant epithelial (n=53) and germ cell tumor of the ovary (n=25) in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Second West China Hospital of Sichuan University, China from the year 2000 to 2004. The expression of p53, Bcl-2 and Topo II alpha in the 2 types of ovarian cancer was compared and data were analyzed by student t test, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Spearman rank correlation test.

RESULTS: The expression of p53 (mutation) in ovarian epithelial cancers (56.6%) was significantly higher than that in the malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary (28%), whereas the expression of Bcl-2 and Topo II alpha had no significant difference between the 2 groups. The expression of p53, Bcl-2 and Topo II alpha had no relationship with the Federation Internationale de Gynecologie Obstetrique (FIGO) stage. The age, FIGO stage and the chemotherapy response were significantly different between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSION: The expression of p53 in ovarian cancer was related to chemosensitivity. Our results suggest that p53 may have a role on the difference of chemosensitivity between human malignant epithelial and germ cell tumor of the ovary.