OBJECTIVES

The epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) is an important step in the invasion and metastasis of cancer. A critical molecular feature of this process is the downregulation of the E-cadherin expression, which is primarily controlled by Snail-related zinc-finger transcription factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of the expression of EMT-related proteins (E-cadherin and Snail) in patients with ovarian cancer.

METHODS

An immunohistochemical analysis was conducted using tissue microarray samples of 174 primary tumors and 34 metastases of ovarian carcinoma, and the relationships between the protein expression, clinicopathological features and outcomes were investigated.

RESULTS

A reduced E-cadherin expression was observed in 36.8% of the primary tumors and 30.4%, 35.7%, 37.7% and 52.7% of the stage I, II, III and IV tumors, respectively. The nuclear expression of Snail was positive in 33.9% of the primary tumors. The rate of an EMT-positive status, as represented by both a reduced E-cadherin expression and a nuclear expression of Snail, was significantly higher in the patients with peritoneal dissemination than in those without (p < 0.05). The EMT status was significantly associated with both the progression-free survival and overall survival (p <0.01). A multivariate analysis showed an EMT-positive status to be a significant predictor of both the progression-free survival (p < 0.05) and overall survival (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that the EMT status is significantly associated with peritoneal metastasis and both the progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with ovarian cancer. Therefore, clarifying and controlling EMT signaling is a promising approach to molecular targeted therapy for ovarian cancer.