Retinoid receptor alpha and beta expression in serous ovarian tumors

Abstract

The expression of retinoid acid receptors alpha (RAR alpha) and beta (RAR beta) and estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) was assessed by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting in normal ovaries, serous cystadenoma (n = 20), serous borderline (n = 14), and serous ovarian cancer (n = 47) and was correlated in cancer cases with stage, grade, progress-free survival (PFS), and survival. RAR alpha was increasingly expressed in benign cystadenomas, borderline, and low-stage and advanced-stage neoplasms (p < 0.001). In stage III, G3 serous carcinoma, increased RAR alpha expression was an independent prognostic factor associated with lower chemoresponse to first-line chemotherapy (taxol and carboplatin) and shorter PFS (p < 0.002). RAR beta and ER alpha expression did not correlate with RAR alpha tumor characteristics or PFS and survival. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.