The mortality rate for patients with ovarian carcinomas is high and the available prognostic factors are insufficient. The use of biomarkers may contribute to better prediction and survival for these patients. We aimed to study the gene and protein expressions for 7 potential biomarkers, to determine if it is possible to use them as prognostic factors. Genes selected from our previous microarray analysis (2006), CLU, ITGB3, TACC1, MUC5B, CAPG, PRAME and TROAP, were analyzed in 19 of the tumors with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). We found that CLU and ITGB3 were more expressed in tumors from survivors and PRAME and CAPG were more expressed in tumors from deceased patients. None of the other 3 genes were significantly differently expressed. The protein expressions of CLU, ITGB3, PRAME and CAPG were analyzed in 43 of the tumors with western blot for semiquantitative analysis. We established that the mRNA and protein expressions correlated and that all 4 proteins were significantly differently expressed. Further, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to localize the expression of the proteins in the tumor samples. According to our results, the 4 biomarkers CLU, ITGB3, PRAME and CAPG may be used as prognostic factors for patients with stage III serous ovarian adenocarcinomas.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

BackgroundThe majority of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in late stages, and the mortality rate is high. The use of biomarkers as prognostic factors may improve the treatment and clinical outcome of these patients. We performed an external validation of the potential biomarkers CLU, ITGB3, CAPG, and PRAME to determine if the expression levels are relevant to use as prognostic factors.MethodsWe analysed the gene expression of CLU, ITGB3, CAPG, and PRAME in 30 advanced staged serous adenocarcinomas with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) and the protein levels were analysed in 98 serous adenocarcinomas with western blot for semiquantitative analysis. Statistical differences in mRNA and protein expressions between tumours from survivors and tumours from deceased patients were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test.ResultsThe gene and protein ITGB3 (Integrin beta 3) were significantly more expressed in tumours from survivors compared to tumours from deceased patients, which is in concordance with our previous results. However, no significant differences were detected for the other three genes or proteins CLU, CAPG, and PRAME.ConclusionThe loss of ITGB3 expression in tumours from deceased patients and high expression in tumours from survivors could be used as a biomarker for patients with advanced serous tumours.