Although low-grade endometrioid carcinomas rarely progress to high-grade carcinomas, a combined WT1-negative, TP53-positive immunophenotype may identify an uncommon high-grade subtype of ovarian endometrioid carcinoma.
In 60 cases of OEC, 40.0% showed lower IGFBP-3 expression which was significantly correlated with higher IGFBP-3 promoter methylation. p53 overexpression was detected in 35.0% of OEC and was unrelated to clinical outcomes and IGFBP-3.
We amplified exons 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the p53 gene, and direct sequencing was performed. p53 mutation was observed in 4 (30.8%) of 13 specimens of endometriosis coexisting with OCCA, whereas no mutations were detected in solitary endometriosis or endometriosis coexisting with OEC.
In this study, we examined the biology of OCCA and EC by performing large-scale analysis of K-ras activation and p53 mutation and overexpression in these malignancies.