Podocalyxin-like protein 1 expression and correlation with clinical characteristics in epithelial serous and mucinous ovarian carcinoma and tumor-like lesions.

OBJECTIVE Podocalyxin-like protein 1 (PCLP1) may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of tumors. However, to date the role of PCLP1 in the progression of epithelial ovarian carcinoma has not been investigated. METHODS PCLP1 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 471 cases with various degrees of ovarian epithelial lesions, including 46 cases of normal ovarian epithelial tissue, 105 benign serous tumors, 74 borderline serous tumors, 94 serous carcinomas, 58 benign mucinous tumors, 50 borderline mucinous tumors and 44 mucinous carcinomas. Associations between PCLP1 expression and various clinical characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS PCLP1 expression in mucinous carcinoma and borderline mucinous tumor tissues was found to be significantly lower than that observed in normal and benign mucinous tumor tissue. In addition, PCLP1 expression was significantly lower in mucinous carcinoma patients in advanced clinical stage and with poor differentiation of tumor cells. No positive results were observed in serous carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that PCLP1 may be involved in the progression of ovarian mucinous lesions but not in serous lesions. Low PCLP1 expression may be a potential predictor of a poor prognosis in mucinous carcinomas.