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Published on: July 25, 2020
Comparative study of BRAF gene mutations in ovarian serous tumors by immunohistochemistry and DNA sequencing
Yi-Yao Liu1, Qing-Ping Wang, Fang-Fang Liu
1Department of Pathology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200040, P.R. China.
Purpose:
Somatic mutations in the BRAF gene are common in several types of cancer, especially in ovarian serous cancer (OSC). Normally, the BRAF protein is switched on and off in response to signals that control cell growth and development.
Methods:
To investigate the correlation between the mutation of BRAF gene and the expression of BRAF protein in OSC, pyrosequencing was performed to detect the mutation of the 600th codon in BRAF gene (written as Val600Glu or V600E) in 23 cases of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC), 28 cases of low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSC) and 72 cases of serous borderline ovarian tumors (SBT). Meanwhile, immunohistochemistry which stained with the specific antibody VE1 were used to clarified the expression level of BRAF V600E mutant protein.
Results:
Finally, we found that V600E mutation in LGSC and SBT of occurred in 2 of 23 (7.1%) and 21of 72 (29.2%), respectively. The V600E mutation was not detected in 23 cases of HGSC. One case of HGSC (1, 4.3%), 3 cases of LGSC (3 of 28, 10.7%) and 25 cases of SBT (25 of 72, 34.7%) were positive expression detected by immunohistochemistry. Compared with BRAF gene mutation, the sensitivity, specificity and consistency of BRAF V600E protein were 91.3%, 92% and 91.9%, respectively.
Conclusion:
Our findings indicate that BRAF mutations in LGSC and SBT, which are closely related to tumor staging. The specific antibody VE1 could be used as a preliminary screening for the mutation of BRAF gene.
