[Expression of epidermal growth factor receptors in benign ovarian tumors]

The objective of the present study was to determine the level of EGFR expression in patients having benign ovarian tumors and in morphologically normal ovarian tissue by quantitative ligand binding assays. In a prospective study 42 patients with benign ovarian tumors and 30 with normal ovaries were included. In the group of patients expressing EGFR, those having benign tumors were 23 (64%) and the ones with normal ovaries--13 (36%). The average level of EGFR expression was the highest in the cases of teratoma adultum (110 fmol/mg), followed by mucinous (97 fmol/mg) and serous (30 fmol/mg) cystadenomas. The differences between the average levels of EGFR expression in mucinous and serous benign ovarian tumors were significant (p = 0.032), as for the remaining histological variants--statistically insignificant (p = 0.086). Mucinous cystadenomas possessed higher proliferative potential compared to serous cystadenomas.