Decreased intraperitoneal disease recurrence in epithelial ovarian cancer patients receiving intraperitoneal consolidation treatment with yttrium-90-labeled murine HMFG1 without improvement in overall survival

This study analyzes the site of disease recurrence in ovarian cancer patients to assess the influence of a single intraperitoneal (IP) administration of yttrium-90-labeled murine monoclonal antibody HMFG1 ((90)Y-muHMFG1) on the pattern of disease recurrence. In a large phase III trial ovarian cancer patients in complete clinical remission with FIGO stage Ic-IV were randomized between standard treatment plus a single IP (90)Y-labeled muHMFG1 versus standard treatment alone after negative second-look laparoscopy. Case report forms of all patients with disease recurrence were reviewed to determine site and date of recurrent disease. In total 447 patients were included in the study with a median follow-up of 3.5 years. Relapse was seen in 104/224 in the active and 98/223 in the control arm. Significantly fewer IP (p < 0.05) and more extraperitoneal (p < 0.05) relapses occurred in the active treatment arm. Time to IP recurrence was significantly longer (p = 0.0019) and time to extraperitoneal recurrence was significantly shorter for the active treatment arm (p < 0.001). The impact of IP radioimmunotherapy on IP relapse-free survival could only be seen in the subgroup of patients with residual disease after primary surgery (HR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.53; p = 0.002). Although, there is no survival benefit for IP radioimmunotherapy as consolidation treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer, we found an improved control of IP disease, that was offset by increased extraperitoneal recurrences.     

External validation of three prognostic models for overall survival in patients with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer

Background:

For various malignancies, prognostic models have shown to be superior to traditional staging systems in predicting overall survival. The purpose of this study was to validate and compare the performance of three prognostic models for overall survival in patients with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods:

A multi-institutional epithelial ovarian cancer database was used to identify patients and to evaluate the predictive performance of two nomograms, a prognostic index and FIGO (International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology) stage. All patients were treated for advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer between January 1996 and January 2009 in 11 hospitals in the eastern part of The Netherlands.

Results:

In total, 542 patients were found to be eligible. Overall performance did not differ between the three prognostic models and FIGO stage. The discriminative performance for Chi''s model was moderately good (c indices 0.65 and 0.68) and for the models of Gerestein and Teramukai reasonable (c indices between 0.60 and 0.62). The c indices of FIGO stage ranged between 0.54 and 0.62. After recalibration, the three models showed almost perfect calibration, whereas calibration of FIGO stage was reasonable.

Conclusion:

The three prediction models showed general applicability and a reasonably well-predictive performance, especially in comparison to FIGO stage. To date, there are no studies available that analyse the impact of these prognostic models on decision-making and patient outcome. Therefore, the usefulness of these models in daily clinical practice remains to be investigated.     

Sprouty 1 predicts prognosis in human epithelial ovarian cancer

Sprouty proteins are evolutionary-conserved modulators of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling. We have previously reported inverse correlation of the Sprouty 1 (Spry1) protein expression with ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and survival. In the present study, the expression status of Spry1 protein and its clinical relevance in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were explored. Matched tumor and normal tissue samples from 100 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were immunohistochemically stained for Spry1. Expression of ERK, p-ERK, Ki67, FGF-2, VEGF and IL-6 and their correlation with Spry1 were also evaluated. In addition, correlation between Spry1 and clinicopathological characteristics and predictive significance of Spry1 for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analysed. Our data indicated that Spry1 was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues (p=0.004). Spry1 showed significant inverse correlation with p-ERK/ERK (p=0.045), Ki67 (p=0.010), disease stage (p=0.029), tumor grade (p=0.037), recurrence (p=0.001) and lymphovascular invasion (p=0.042). It was revealed that Spry1 low-expressing patients had significantly poorer OS (p=0.010) and DFS (p=0.012) than those with high expression of Spry1. Multivariate analysis showed that high Spry1 (p=0.030), low stage (p=0.048) and no residual tumor (p=0.007) were independent prognostic factors for a better OS, among which high Spry1 (p=0.035) and low stage (p=0.035) remained as independent predictors of DFS, too. We also found that the expression of Spry1 significantly correlates with the expression of Spry2 (p<0.001), but not that of Spry4. In conclusion, we report for the first time to our knowledge that Spry1 protein is downregulated in human epithelial ovarian cancer. Spry1 expression significantly impacts tumor behavior and shows predictive value as an independent prognostic factor for survival and recurrence.     

Intermediate clinical endpoints: A bridge between progression‐free survival and overall survival in ovarian cancer trials

Ovarian cancer patients are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, experience recurrence after platinum‐based chemotherapy, and eventually develop resistance to chemotherapy. Overall survival (OS), which has improved in recent years as more active treatments have been incorporated into patient care, is regarded as the most clinically relevant endpoint in ovarian cancer trials. However, although there remains a significant need for new treatments that prolong OS further without compromising quality of life, it has become increasingly difficult to detect an OS benefit for investigational treatments because of the use of multiple lines of chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer. Progression‐free survival (PFS), which measures the time to disease progression or death, is unaffected by postprogression therapies but does not evaluate the long‐term impact of investigational treatments on tumor biology and responses to future therapies. Recent clinical trials of targeted agents in relapsed ovarian cancer have shown improvements in PFS but not OS, and this is possibly reflective of the long postprogression survival (PPS) period associated with this disease. Intermediate endpoints such as the time to second disease progression or death and the time to second subsequent therapy or death may provide supportive evidence for clinically meaningful PFS improvements and may be used to determine whether these improvements persist beyond the first disease progression and throughout subsequent lines of therapy. For clinical trials that have settings with a long PPS duration and/or involve multiple rounds of postprogression therapy, a primary endpoint of PFS supported by intermediate clinical endpoints and OS may provide a more comprehensive approach for evaluating efficacy. Cancer 2015;121:1737–1746. © 2015 American Cancer Society.     

Reproductive factors and epithelial ovarian cancer survival in the EPIC cohort study

Background:

Reproductive factors influence the risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), but little is known about their association with survival. We tested whether prediagnostic reproductive factors influenced EOC-specific survival among 1025 invasive EOC cases identified in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, which included 521 330 total participants (approximately 370 000 women) aged 25–70 years at recruitment from 1992 to 2000.

Methods:

Information on reproductive characteristics was collected at recruitment. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and multivariable models were adjusted for age and year of diagnosis, body mass index, tumour stage, smoking status and stratified by study centre.

Results:

After a mean follow-up of 3.6 years (±3.2 s.d.) following EOC diagnosis, 511 (49.9%) of the 1025 women died from EOC. We observed a suggestive survival advantage in menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) users (ever vs never use, HR=0.80, 95% CI=0.62–1.03) and a significant survival benefit in long-term MHT users (⩾5 years use vs never use, HR=0.70, 95% CI=0.50–0.99, P_trend=0.04). We observed similar results for MHT use when restricting to serous cases. Other reproductive factors, including parity, breastfeeding, oral contraceptive use and age at menarche or menopause, were not associated with EOC-specific mortality risk.

Conclusions:

Further studies are warranted to investigate the possible improvement in EOC survival in MHT users.     

No socioeconomic inequalities in ovarian cancer survival within two randomised clinical trials

Background:

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among cancers of the female genital tract, with poor outcomes despite chemotherapy. There was a persistent socioeconomic gradient in 1-year survival in England and Wales for more than 3 decades (1971–2001). Inequalities in 5-year survival persisted for more than 20 years but have been smaller for women diagnosed around 2000. We explored one possible explanation.

Methods:

We analysed data on 1406 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 1991–1998 and recruited to one of two randomised clinical trials. In the second International Collaborative Ovarian Neoplasm (ICON2) trial, women diagnosed between 1991 and 1996 were randomised to receive either the three-drug combination cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and cisplatin (CAP) or single-agent carboplatin given at optimal dose. In the ICON3 trial, women diagnosed during 1995–1998 were randomised to receive either the same treatments as ICON2, or paclitaxel plus carboplatin.Relative survival at 1, 5 and 10 years was estimated for women in five categories of socioeconomic deprivation. The excess hazard of death over and above background mortality was estimated by fitting multivariable regression models with Poisson error structure and a dedicated link function in a generalised linear model framework, adjusting for the duration of follow-up and the confounding effects of age, Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and calendar period.

Results:

Unlike women with ovarian cancer in the general population, no statistically significant socioeconomic gradient was seen for women with ovarian cancer treated in the two randomised controlled trials. The deprivation gap in 1-year relative survival in the general population was statistically significant at −6.7% (95% CI (−8.1, −5.3)), compared with −3.6% (95% CI (−10.4, +3.2)) in the trial population.

Conclusions:

Although ovarian cancer survival is significantly lower among poor women than rich women in England and Wales, there was no evidence of an association between socioeconomic deprivation and survival among women with ovarian cancer who were treated and followed up consistently in two well-conducted randomised controlled trials. We conclude that the persistent socioeconomic gradient in survival among women with ovarian cancer, at least for 1-year survival, may be due to differences in access to treatment and standards of care.     

ASPM and microcephalin expression in epithelial ovarian cancer correlates with tumour grade and survival

Background:

The clinico-pathological and molecular heterogeneity of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) complicates its early diagnosis and successful treatment. Highly aneuploid tumours and the presence of ascitic fluids are hallmarks of EOC. Two microcephaly-associated proteins, abnormal spindle-like microcephaly-associated protein (ASPM) and microcephalin, are involved in mitosis and DNA damage repair. Their expression is deregulated at the RNA level in EOC. Here, ASPM and microcephalin protein expression in primary cultures established from the ascites of patients with EOC was determined and correlated with clinical data to assess their suitability as biomarkers.

Methods:

Five established ovarian cancer cell lines, cells derived from two benign ovarian ascites samples and 40 primary cultures of EOC derived from ovarian ascites samples were analysed by protein slot blotting and/or immunofluorescence to determine ASPM and microcephalin protein levels and their cellular localisation. Results were correlated with clinico-pathological data.

Results:

A statistically significant correlation was identified for ASPM localisation and tumour grade, with high levels of cytoplasmic ASPM correlating with grade 1 tumours. Conversely, cytoplasmic microcephalin was only identified in high-grade tumours. Furthermore, low levels of nuclear microcephalin correlated with reduced patient survival.

Conclusion:

Our results suggest that ASPM and microcephalin have the potential to be biomarkers in ovarian cancer.     

Circulating anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies as a favorable prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer

MUC1 is immunogenic in vivo and humoral and cellular immune responses against MUC1 have been detected in cancer patients. Our study explored the association of circulating anti-MUC1 antibodies with clinicopathological parameters or patients' survival of pancreatic cancer. Serum specimens from 36 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas were subjected to enzyme immunoassay for anti-MUC1 IgG or IgM antibodies. Serum levels of anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies were significantly correlated with survival time (p = 0.0004), whereas neither those of anti-MUC1 IgM nor anti-Galalpha(1,3)Gal IgG antibodies, the latter known as natural antibodies cross-reactive with MUC1, showed a given tendency. Some patients' sera with the higher antibody titer showed the reactivity with MUC1-transfectants of cultured pancreatic cancer cells, but not with MUC1-negative parental cells. When the samples were tentatively divided into 2 groups by the serum level of anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies, the survival of patients was significantly longer in the group with optical density >or=0.3 than in that with optical density <0.3 (p = 0.008). Circulating anti-MUC1 IgG antibody levels remained significant (HR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.003-0.289; p = 0.0024) after multivariate analysis for pTNM stage, patient age and gender. These data suggest that circulating anti-MUC1-IgG antibody levels may be predictive for survival of pancreatic cancer patients.     

BRCA1与SIRT1在浆液性上皮性卵巢癌组织中的表达及意义

目的:本研究分别从蛋白质表达方面比较正常卵巢组织、卵巢良性肿瘤组织与浆液性上皮性卵巢癌组织中乳腺癌易感基因1(breast cancer susceptibility gene 1,BRCA1)与沉默信息调节因子1 (silent information regulator type 1,SIRT1)表达的变化,探讨BRCA1与SIRT1在浆液性上皮性卵巢癌发生过程中的作用及二者之间的相关性,为进一步明确浆液性上皮性卵巢癌的发病机制、早期诊断、预防及药物治疗奠定理论基础.方法:利用免疫组织化学法分别检测BRCA1和SIRT1在正常卵巢组织、卵巢良性肿瘤组织与浆液性上皮性卵巢癌组织中蛋白的表达情况并进行统计学处理.结果:BRCA1蛋白在正常卵巢组织中的阳性表达率为93.33%,卵巢浆液性囊腺瘤组织为66.67%,卵巢浆液性囊腺癌组织为47.50%,各组间比较差异有显著性(P<0.05).SIRT1蛋白在正常卵巢组织中的阳性表达率为86.67%,卵巢浆液性囊腺瘤组织为50.00%,卵巢浆液性囊腺癌组织为40.00%,正常与恶性、良性与恶性组织间比较差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05),正常与良性组织间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05).卵巢浆液性囊腺癌组织中,BRCA1在不同年龄、淋巴结转移分组中,阳性表达率无统计学差异(P>0.05),在不同手术病理分期、组织学分级分组中,阳性表达率具有统计学差异(P<0.05).SIRT1在不同年龄、手术病理分期、淋巴结转移分组中,阳性表达率无统计学差异(P>0.05),在不同组织学分级中,阳性表达率具有统计学差异(P<0.05).BRCA1、SIRT1在卵巢浆液性囊腺癌组织中的表达呈正相关(r=0.664,P<0.001).结论:BRCA1、SIRT1的低表达与浆液性上皮性卵巢癌的发生、发展有关,SIRT1可能是BRCA1的下游靶分子,未来有可能成为诊断与治疗浆液性上皮性卵巢癌的新靶点.     

Hypodontia phenotype in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Background

Ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in an advanced stage and the present clinical and diagnostic molecular markers for early OC screening are insufficient. The aim of this study was to identify potential relationship between the hypodontia and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Patients and methods

A retrospective study was conducted on 120 patients with EOC treated at the Department of Gynaecologic and Breast Oncology at the University Clinical Centre and 120 gynaecological healthy women (control group) of the same mean age. Women in both groups were reviewed for the presence of hypodontia and the patients with EOC also for clinicopathological characteristics of EOC according to hypodontia phenotype.

Results

Hypodontia was diagnosed in 23 (19.2%) of patients with EOC and 8 (6.7%) controls (p = 0.004; odds ratio [OR] = 3.32; confidence interval [CI], 1.42–7.76). There was no statistically significant difference in patients with EOC with or without hypodontia regarding histological subtype (p = 0.220); they differed in regard to FIGO stage (p = 0.014; OR =3.26; CI, 1.23–8.64) and tumour differentiation grade (p = 0.042; OR = 3.1; CI, 1.01–9.53). Also, bilateral occurrence of EOC was more common than unilateral occurrence in women with hypodontia (p = 0.021; OR = 2.9; CI, 1.15–7.36). We also found statistically significant difference between the ovarian cancer group and control group in presence of other malignant tumours in subjects (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The results of the study suggest a statistical association between EOC and hypodontia phenotype. Hypodontia might serve as a risk factor for EOC detection.     

Impact of secondary cytoreductive surgery on survival of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

Aims To investigate the impact on survival of secondary cytoreduction for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and variables influencing redebulking surgical outcome. Methods Between 1986 and 1997, 106 patients who received secondary cytoreductive surgery and consequent second-line chemotherapy for stages III and IV epithelial ovarian cancer were retrospectively reviewed. The optimal residual disease cut-off was 1.0 cm. The Cox proportional regression model and logistic stepwise regression were used in statistical processing of the data. Results The median age of the patients was 50 years (range, 26–77 years). Optimal secondary cytoreduction was achieved in 46 of 106 patients (43.4%). There was a significant difference in survival between patients who were optimally cytoreduced compared to those suboptimaly cytoreduced, with an estimated median survival in the optimal group of 20 months vs 8 months in the suboptimal group (²=42.03, P=0.0000). When factorized, patients had significant survival benefit from optimal secondary cytoreduction for recurrent disease and interval cytoreduction. Survival was adversely influenced by progression-free interval ≤12 months (P=0.0078), residual disease >1 cm (P=0.0001) and presence of refractory ascites (P=0.0001). The probability of successful redebulking surgery was affected by presence of refractory ascites (P=0.0023) in all 106 patients and by the ascites (P=0.0072) and residual disease at initial operation in recurrent disease (P=0.0096). Conclusion Secondary surgical cytoreduction surgery significantly lengthened survival for patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer or those receiving interval cytoreduction. Patients with refractory ascites, however, were not suitable for aggressive secondary surgery, and redebulking surgery for those with residual disease of >1.0 cm after primary operation should be considered prudently in recurrent disease.     

KISS1及骨桥蛋白在上皮性卵巢癌中的表达及其临床意义

目的:探讨KISS1(KiSS-1 metastasis-suppressor)和骨桥蛋白(osteopontin,OPN)在上皮性卵巢癌(epithelial ovariancancer,EOC)组织中的表达及其临床意义。方法:选取2009年3月至2010年10月在河北医科大学第四医院妇科接受手术的上皮性卵巢肿瘤患者组织标本67例,免疫组化法检测KISS1和OPN在肿瘤组织中的表达,分析其相关性和临床意义。结果:KISS1蛋白在EOC组织中的表达明显低于其在卵巢良性肿瘤组织中的表达[39.5%(17/43)vs 75.0%(18/24);χ2=7.765,P=0.005];有淋巴结转移组中KISS1的表达低于无淋巴结转移组[25.0%(7/28)vs 66.7%(10/15);χ2=7.094,P=0.008];在不同临床分期组中,Ⅰ+Ⅱ期EOC中KISS1的表达高于Ⅲ+Ⅳ期[61.1%(11/18)vs 24.0%(6/25);χ2=6.029,P=0.014]。OPN蛋白在EOC组织中的表达率明显高于其在卵巢良性肿瘤组织中的表达[74.4%(32/43)vs 37.5%(11/24);χ2=5.475,P=0.019];在有淋巴结转移组中OPN的表达高于无淋巴结转移组[89.3%(25/28)vs 46.7%(7/15);χ2=7.251,P=0.007];在不同临床分期组中,Ⅰ+Ⅱ期EOC中OPN的表达低于Ⅲ+Ⅳ期[50.0%(9/18)vs 92.0%(23/25);χ2=7.616,P=0.006]。KISS1和OPN蛋白的表达与EOC的病理类型及患者年龄无关(P>0.05)。在EOC中,KISS1与OPN蛋白的表达呈负相关(r=-0.507,P=0.001)。结论:KISS1和OPN可能参与了EOC的发生、发展和转移,有可能成为EOC预后判断的生物学标志物。     

Shifting incidence and survival of epithelial ovarian cancer (1995-2014): A SurvMark-2 study

The aim of the study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of incidence and survival trends of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) by histological subtype across seven high income countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom). Data on invasive EOC diagnosed in women aged 15 to 99 years during 1995 to 2014 were obtained from 20 cancer registries. Age standardized incidence rates and average annual percentage change were calculated by subtype for all ages and age groups (15-64 and 65-99 years). Net survival (NS) was estimated by subtype, age group and 5-year period using Pohar-Perme estimator. Our findings showed marked increase in serous carcinoma incidence was observed between 1995 and 2014 among women aged 65 to 99 years with average annual increase ranging between 2.2% and 5.8%. We documented a marked decrease in the incidence of adenocarcinoma “not otherwise specified” with estimates ranging between 4.4% and 7.4% in women aged 15 to 64 years and between 2.0% and 3.7% among the older age group. Improved survival, combining all EOC subtypes, was observed for all ages combined over the 20-year study period in all countries with 5-year NS absolute percent change ranging between 5.0 in Canada and 12.6 in Denmark. Several factors such as changes in guidelines and advancement in diagnostic tools may potentially influence the observed shift in histological subtypes and temporal trends. Progress in clinical management and treatment over the past decades potentially plays a role in the observed improvements in EOC survival.     

Expression of MUC1 splice variants in benign and malignant ovarian tumours

MUC1 is expressed on the surface of ovarian cancer cells. Nine different splice variants of MUC1 have been described, but no study has reported on the expression of MUC1 isoforms in human ovarian cancer. Our study compares patterns of expression of MUC1 splice variants of malignant and benign ovarian tumours. Ovarian tissue samples were taken from patients with benign ovarian tumours (n = 34) and from patients who had surgery for primary (n = 47) or recurrent (n = 8) ovarian cancer. RT-PCR for MUC1 splice variants A, B, C, D, X, Y, Z, REP and SEC was performed and their expression compared to clinical and histopathologic parameters. Variants A, D, X, Y and Z were more frequently expressed in malignant than in benign tumours. All primary ovarian cancer cases were positive for variant REP but negative for variant SEC. No significant association of the expression of MUC1 splice variants with the response to chemotherapy or patient survival could be demonstrated. Expression of MUC1 splice variants A, D, X, Y, Z and REP is associated with the presence of malignancy, whereas expression of MUC1/SEC is associated with the absence of malignancy.     

粘蛋白MUC1在卵巢浆液性肿瘤中的表达及其临床意义

目的:研究粘蛋白MUC1在卵巢浆液性肿瘤中的表达及其临床意义。方法:应用免疫组织化学SP法检测53例卵巢浆液性囊腺癌、20例交界性卵巢浆液性囊腺瘤、20例卵巢浆液性囊腺瘤、20例正常卵巢组织中MUC1的表达情况。结果:MUC1在卵巢浆液性囊腺癌中的阳性表达率为88.7%,略高于交界性浆液性囊腺瘤中的表达(70%)(P=0.1172),明显高于良性卵巢浆液性囊腺瘤(35%)及正常卵巢组织(30%)中的表达(P<0.05)。MUC1的阳性表达与卵巢浆液性囊腺癌的临床分期有关(P<0.05),与年龄、组织分级和淋巴结转移无关(P>0.05)。结论:粘蛋白MUC1在卵巢浆液性囊腺癌的发生、发展中起重要作用,MUC1可作为判断卵巢浆液性囊腺癌生物学行为和恶性潜能的参考指标。