Reduced bikunin gene expression as a factor of poor prognosis in ovarian carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
In previous studies, the authors showed that various types of cultured tumor cells treated with exogenous bikunin protein or ovarian carcinoma cells transfected with bikunin cDNA have low invasiveness and diminished metastatic potential. This study was carried out to clarify the relation between the expression of individual bikunin mRNA and tumor progression.


METHODS
Forty-one newly diagnosed ovarian carcinomas were investigated using a semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
The authors found that 24 patients had tumors that overexpressed bikunin and that gene expression was reduced in the tumors of the remaining 17 individuals. Bikunin mRNA expression was independent of age, surgical stage, tumor size, degree of differentiation, histologic subtype, and serum CA 125 levels. There was a significant correlation between low expression of bikunin mRNA and lymph node status (P=0.035) or peritoneal status (P=0.042). Multivariate analysis indicated that bikunin was an independent prognostic marker (P=0.013; hazard ratio, 2.30; 95 % confidence interval, 1.13-4.19), even after controlling for lymph node metastasis and the degree of peritoneal dissemination. In addition, low expression was a significant predictor for poor prognosis compared with high expression (2-year survival rate; 75.0 % vs. 47.1 %, respectively; P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that low bikunin mRNA expression by ovarian carcinoma cells may be associated with poor prognosis. It is conceivable that testing for bikunin mRNA may identify patients with ovarian carcinoma who are at high risk for early disease recurrence and a poor prognosis.
Tanaka
Yoshiko
Y
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.
Kobayashi
Hiroshi
H
Suzuki
Mika
M
Kanayama
Naohiro
N
Suzuki
Mitsuaki
M
Yamakawa
Toru
T
Morishita
Hideaki
H
Terao
Toshihiko
T
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014360:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kunitz Soybean / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C109148:SPINT2 protein, human; D014360:Trypsin Inhibitor, Kunitz Soybean