Ginnavaram Varsha, Vasugi Arumugam, Sundaram Sandhya
Pathology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, IND.
Cureus. 2023 Jun 22;15(6):e40830. doi: 10.7759/cureus.40830. eCollection 2023 Jun.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common malignancy among women and the second most common gynaecological malignancy. Surface epithelial ovarian tumours constitute two-thirds of all ovarian tumours. Most high-grade serous carcinoma patients gain an initial complete response but eventually succumb to relapse and death leaving the overall survival grim. Therefore, new regimens targeting the pathways involved in metastasis and chemoresistance are essential for the development of more effective therapies. Notch signalling is one of the pleiotropic signalling pathways that plays a key role in differentiation and tissue morphogenesis. It has been observed that this Notch signalling pathway is seen to be deregulated in various cancers. It is thought to have an oncogenic role in ovarian cancer. Our objective in this study is to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression pattern of Notch1 in surface epithelial ovarian tumours and its correlation with the clinicopathological profile.
This study includes a total of 100 cases of borderline and malignant surface epithelial ovarian tumours. Clinical data of the patients were obtained from the medical records section. HPE slides were examined and one representative paraffin block was selected for each patient. IHC of Notch1 was performed and analyzed. The staining pattern for Notch1 was calculated using the Q score.
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluation of Notch1 in surface epithelial ovarian tumours in this study showed an increased intensity of Notch1 staining in high-grade serous malignant tumours. The grading and staging of tumours were compared with Notch1 expression. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman Rank order correlation analysis. There was a significant correlation (0.01 level, two-tailed) between the grading and staging of ovarian tumours and Notch1 expression.
Assessing Notch1 expression in ovarian cancer by IHC is a useful tool in view of its clinical applications, development of targeted therapies and as a marker of prognosis. The intensity of the Notch1 stain appears to be directly proportional to the grade of tumour. This may offer a potential targeted therapy against the Notch signalling pathway in tumours that strongly express Notch1.
卵巢癌是女性中第五大常见恶性肿瘤，也是第二大常见妇科恶性肿瘤。表面上皮性卵巢肿瘤占所有卵巢肿瘤的三分之二。大多数高级别浆液性癌患者最初会获得完全缓解，但最终会复发并死亡，总体生存率不容乐观。因此，针对转移和化疗耐药相关途径的新方案对于开发更有效的治疗方法至关重要。Notch信号通路是多效性信号通路之一，在细胞分化和组织形态发生中起关键作用。据观察，该Notch信号通路在各种癌症中均出现失调。人们认为它在卵巢癌中具有致癌作用。本研究的目的是评估Notch1在表面上皮性卵巢肿瘤中的免疫组化表达模式及其与临床病理特征的相关性。
本研究共纳入100例交界性和恶性表面上皮性卵巢肿瘤。患者的临床资料从病历科获取。检查苏木精-伊红染色（HPE）切片，为每位患者选择一个代表性石蜡块。进行Notch1的免疫组化（IHC）检测并分析。使用Q评分计算Notch1的染色模式。
本研究对表面上皮性卵巢肿瘤中Notch1的免疫组化（IHC）评估显示，高级别浆液性恶性肿瘤中Notch1染色强度增加。将肿瘤的分级和分期与Notch1表达进行比较。采用Spearman等级相关分析进行统计分析。卵巢肿瘤的分级和分期与Notch1表达之间存在显著相关性（0.01水平，双侧）。
鉴于其临床应用、靶向治疗的开发以及作为预后标志物，通过免疫组化评估卵巢癌中Notch1的表达是一种有用的工具。Notch1染色强度似乎与肿瘤分级成正比。这可能为针对强表达Notch1的肿瘤的Notch信号通路提供一种潜在的靶向治疗方法。
