Immunohistochemical study of the expression of adhesion molecules in ovarian serous neoplasms

To clarify possible roles of adhesion molecules including E-cadherin, beta- and gamma-catenin, CD44s, CD44v6, CD56, and CD99 in ovarian serous neoplasms, an immunohistochemical study was undertaken for 23 benign, 40 borderline, and 95 malignant ovarian serous neoplasms using tissue microarray (TMA). Significantly reduced expression of E-cadherin, and overexpression of CD44s, CD56, and CD99 were more frequently observed in adenocarcinomas than in benign and borderline tumors. Expression of CD44v6 and nuclear beta- and gamma-catenin were detected only in borderline tumors and adenocarcinomas. Reduced expression of E-cadherin was also correlated with high tumor grade (P=0.03), presence of peritoneal seeding (P=0.03), and low overall survival rate (P=0.02). Overexpression of CD44s was significantly associated with high tumor grade (P=0.04), advanced stage (P=0.03), and low overall survival rate (P=0.02). CD56 was increasingly expressed in the case of advanced stage (P=0.005) and peritoneal seeding (P=0.001). Nuclear staining for gamma-catenin was correlated with tumor progression (P=0.004) and advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (P=0.02). Only CD44s expression and stage were correlated with overall survival in multivariate study. These results suggest that although E-cadherin, CD44s, CD56, and nuclear gamma-catenin immuno-expression seem to be useful prognostic markers for serous neoplasm of the ovary, CD44s expression and FIGO stage are independent prognostic factors.