[Bone marrow involvement in ovarian cancer determined by immunohistochemical methods]

Atypical epithelial cells in the bone marrow of patients with ovarian cancer were evaluated using immunohistochemical techniques. We investigated cytospin preparations of bone marrow taken from 9 women with benign ovarian tumors and 59 women with malignant ovarian tumors. Two monoclonal antibodies (NCL-C11 and NCL-CA 125) were used. With both antibodies we were able to detect keratin and CA 125 antigen expression in the bone marrow of 9 (18.4%) of the patients with ovarian cancer. With regard to the wide histological differentiation of ovarian carcinomas, the presence of atypical epithelial cells in the bone marrow was required as a prognostic factor for survival and relapses. This should be investigated in a larger study group.