Paucimannosylation Is a Prognostic Marker in High-grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Aberrant glycosylation is recognized as a trait of tumorigenesis. Paucimannosidic glycoepitopes (PME), a class of small mannosidic N-linked glycans have recently been linked to pathophysiologic conditions such as cancer and infection. This study aimed to investigate whether paucimannosylation is present in ovarian cancer and to explore its prognostic relevance.

We investigated the presence of PMEs in 176 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer using the research Mannitou antibody for immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemical staining was assessed using eight different scoring systems and correlated with survival using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Positive immunohistochemical staining of PMEs in immune cells was associated with improved 5-year disease-free survival (16.06% vs. 6.16%; p=0.032) and a trend toward improved 5-year overall survival (42.20% vs. 36.70%; p=0.052). Focal hot spot PME staining affecting more than 50% of tumor cells was associated with reduced 5-year overall survival (46.23% vs. 23.68%; p=0.029). Clinical factors such as tumor load, tumor distribution or FIGO-Stage showed no association with any PME staining pattern.

Paucimannosylation, indicated by the presence of PMEs, is present in both tumor and immune cells in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. The prognostic implication of PMEs seems to be cell type-dependent. While immune cell paucimannosylation was associated with improved survival, tumor cell paucimannosylation was associated with reduced survival.