Contribution of immunohistochemistry in prognostic assessment of epithelial ovarian carcinoma - review of the literature I.

Abstract

Epithelial ovarian carcinoma is worldwide the sixth most common female cancer, and this malignancy carries the highest mortality among all gynecological cancers. The most important prognostic factors in ovarian carcinoma are the stage, size of residual tumor following surgery, presence of ascites, age and the general condition of the patient, tumor histology, and, in patients with early disease, also the grade of the tumor.

Large number of studies on prognostic and predictive factors in epithelial ovarian carcinoma has been published, often with contradictory results. The most intensely studied prognostic factors are those for expression of hormonal receptors, for tumor proliferation activity, the markers of apoptosis, or other oncoproteins (particularly HER-2/neu).