Prognostic factors in primary fallopian tube carcinoma. Austrian Cooperative Study Group for Fallopian Tube Carcinoma

A retrospective nationwide evaluation of primary fallopian tube carcinomas for a period of 10 years (1980-1990) was performed to evaluate the prognostic impact of various factors. Sixty-six cases were investigated for the prognostic influence of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) status, mitotic activity, degree of nuclear anaplasia, and inflammatory reaction. ER and PgR receptors were detected by immunohistochemistry from paraffin sections. Forty-two percent were PgR-positive and 26% were ER-positive. However, no correlation of steroid receptors with survival could be found. Ninety-two percent of all tumors showed a moderate and high degree of nuclear anaplasia and only 8% showed a low degree of nuclear anaplasia. Thirty-four (52%) samples from all patients revealed low mitotic activity compared to 32 (48%) with an intermediate and high mitotic rate. Twenty-four (37%) tissue samples showed a positive inflammatory reaction which correlated with a significantly better outcome compared with tumors without this feature. This finding was also confirmed in multivariate analysis as an independent prognostic factor.