Histopathological Patterns of Ovarian Tumors and P53, Ki-67 Expression in Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma

Ovarian carcinomas are heterogeneous neoplasms associated with distinct molecular abnormalities. The P53 tumor suppressor gene plays a key role in cell cycle regulation and carcinogenesis, while Ki-67 protein serves as a marker of cellular proliferation. This study aimed to identify the types of ovarian neoplasms received, evaluate P53 and Ki-67 expression in surface epithelial carcinomas and correlate findings with tumor grading. This cross-sectional descriptive type of observational study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Mymensingh Medical College, Bangladesh, from July 2018 to August 2019. A total of 166 specimens of ovarian tumor from patients admitted in the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics were included in this study. Of these, 35 cases were histopathologically diagnosed as epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). All EOC specimens were processed for immunohistochemistry using P53 and Ki-67 antibodies. Demographic data, including age and diagnosis, were retrieved from requisition forms and statistical analysis was performed. The most frequent histological pattern (81.0%) was surface epithelial tumor. Among EOCs, serous carcinoma was predominant (82.0%), followed by mucinous (8.0%) and endometrioid carcinoma (2.0%). The mean age of patients was 50.69 years, with Grade 1 tumors being most common (45.7%). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significant associations of P53 and Ki-67 expression with EOC (p=0.001). A significant correlation was observed between total histologic score and percentage of positive staining for both markers. P53 expression was strongly associated with higher histological grade (p<0.05), whereas Ki-67 showed no significant correlation with grade but correlated with total histologic score. These findings suggest that P53 expression is linked to tumor aggressiveness, while Ki-67 reflects proliferative activity without direct grade correlation. Assessment of P53 and Ki-67 may provide valuable insight into the biological behavior of epithelial ovarian carcinoma and guide treatment modification.