title: Oncogenic Fli-1 is a potential prognostic marker for the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, but its etiology remains poorly understood. This study investigated the role of Fli-1 in ovarian carcinogenesis and disease survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fli-1 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 104 primary epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients with known follow-up data and 20 controls. Correlation between Fli-1 expression and clinical characteristics was evaluated with the logistic regression. Kaplan Meier analysis was used to assess the impact of Fli-1 expression on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Cell proliferation and migration assay were used to explore the function of Fli-1 in ovarian cancer cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fli-1 was expressed in 74% cases and up-regulated in EOC tissues compared with normal control tissues (p< 0.05). The high expression of Fli-1 was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage, positive lymph nodal involvement, and poor OS and DFS (p< 0.05). Further analysis showed Fli-1 is an independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS. Down-regulation of Fli-1 inhibited cell proliferation but did not affect cell migration in SKOV3 cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed that Fli-1 played an essential role in the development and progression of ovarian cancers. Its overexpression is intimately related to malignant phenotypes and poor clinical outcome, suggesting that Fli-1 is a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic molecular target in ovarian cancer.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guanjun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Cancer center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, 71 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, China. liailing@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ailing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jiuwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015534:Trans-Activators
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C098179:FLII protein, human; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D015534:Trans-Activators