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The clinical predictivity of biomarkers of stage III‐IV epithelial ovarian cancer in a prospective randomized treatment protocol
Author(s) -
Silvestrini Rosella,
Daidone Maria Grazia,
Veneroni Silvia,
Benini Elvira,
Scarfone Giovanna,
Zanaboni Flavia,
Villa Antonella,
Presti Mauro,
Danese Saverio,
Bolis Giorgio
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980101)82:1<159::aid-cncr20>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - cisplatin , medicine , stage (stratigraphy) , ovarian cancer , cancer , oncology , biomarker , immunohistochemistry , pathology , cancer research , chemotherapy , biology , paleontology , biochemistry
BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to define the clinical relevance of functional biomarkers, prospectively assessed in a randomized clinical protocol, in patients with Stage III‐IV epithelial ovarian cancer. The protocol compared cisplatin with polychemotherapy that included cisplatin and cyclophosphamide. METHODS In a subset of 168 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer cell proliferation was determined by the 3 H‐thymidine labeling index, DNA ploidy was assessed by flow cytometry, and the expression of p53, bcl ‐2, and glutathione S ‐transferase‐π (GST‐π) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using the antibodies PAb1801, anti‐ bcl ‐2, and GST‐pi, respectively. RESULTS Cell proliferation, DNA ploidy, and the expression of p53, bcl ‐2, and GST‐π were generally unrelated to one another and unrelated to clinicopathologic features, except for an association between DNA ploidy and the rate of cell proliferation. All biologic variables except bcl ‐2 were slightly related to tumor grade. DNA ploidy emerged as a predictor of clinical complete response and 3‐year overall survival, regardless of treatment type or residual disease. Conversely, except for a favorable outcome for patients with tumors not expressing bcl ‐2 who were treated with cisplatin, no definitive patterns of predictivity for short term or long term clinical outcomes were observed for the other biomarkers studied. CONCLUSIONS DNA ploidy appears to be the most clinically relevant biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer. More information is needed to understand the role of the other markers studied in this tumor type. Cancer 1998;82:159‐67. © 1998 American Cancer Society.