Phenotypic characterization of hereditary epithelial ovarian cancer based on a tissue microarray study

The pathologic and immunohistochemical features of familial epithelial ovarian cancers are not well understood. We have carried out a comprehensive immunohistochemical study of familial ovarian carcinomas from women with and without BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, in order to identify specific and/or common features among these different familial case groups (BRCA1, BRCA2 and non-BRCA1/2) and to identify markers of diagnostic value that might help to select more specific treatments. 73 familial primary ovarian carcinomas were analyzed for the expression of 40 antibodies involved in different genetic pathways using a tissue microarray. Serous carcinomas comprised the majority of all three familial case groups. On the other hand, BRCA1 and BRCA2 carcinomas have similar histopathologic features; i.e. they are often high-grade and are usually diagnosed at a more advanced FIGO stage than non-BRCA1/2 carcinomas. In our series, BRCA1 carcinomas had better clinical evolution and they also more frequently over-expressed PR and P53 than BRCA2 and non-BRCA1/2 carcinomas. Unsupervised cluster analysis and survival analysis identified ERCC1 as a potential marker of better clinical outcome for hereditary epithelial ovarian cancer.