Pathobiological implications of MUC16/CA125 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-mass forming type.

OBJECTIVES MUC16 carries the peptide epitope CA125, which is well known as a marker of ovarian cancer. High serum levels of MUC16 (CA125) have been reported not only in patients with ovarian cancer but also in patients with liver diseases. We evaluated the expression of MUC16 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma-mass forming type (ICC-MF) tissues. METHODS We examined the expression of MUC16 by immunohistochemical analyses using the monoclonal antibody M11 in ICC-MF tissues from 63 patients. To compare the prevalence of each mucin expression by clinicopathological features, appropriate statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS MUC16 was detected in 48% of samples (30/63). After adjusting for the effects of other prognostic factors, multivariate survival analysis revealed that MUC16 expression is a significant independent factor of poor prognosis (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION The current results indicate that MUC16 expression is a prognostic factor of poor survival in ICC-MF.