OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical characteristics of ovarian cancer in hereditary breast/ovarian cancer.

METHODSNinety-one cases of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer were analyzed in terms of age, histological features, stage, familial history, survival time and prognostic factors by SPSS statistical software.

RESULTSThe overall median survival time of the patients was 47 months, and the 2-and 5-year survival rates were 71.2% and 33.5%, respectively. The median age at diagnosis of ovarian cancer was 52 years with the majority of patients (60.4%) diagnosed before 55. Among 39 cases with double primary cancers, there are 20 cases (51.3%) with interval no less than 60 months. The most frequent histological types of ovarian cancer is serous adeno-carcinoma (59.3%). Most patients were in stage III or IV (76.9%) with poor differentiation (59.3%).

CONCLUSIONThe age of diagnosis in ovarian cancer in patients with hereditary breast/ovarian cancer is earlier than that of sporadic ones. Most of the cases were advanced with poor differentiation. Stage and differentiation are the prognostic factors. In patients with double primary cancers, the clinical pathological characteristics of ovarian cancer had the main effect on their prognosis. The survival of hereditary ovarian cancer is similar to that of sporadic ones.

Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; mortality ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; genetics ; mortality ; Family Health ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; genetics ; mortality ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Lymphatic invasion (LI) is regarded as a predictor of the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer (OC). However, LI is not always the major determinant of long-term patient survival. To establish proper diagnosis and treatment for OC, we analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for patients with serous epithelial OC, with or without LI, who did or did not survive for 5 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gene expression data from 63 patients with OC and LI, and 35 patients with OC but without LI, were investigated using an Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Array and analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Among these 98 patients, 16 survived for 5 years or more. DEGs were identified using the Bioconductor R package, and their functions were analyzed using the DAVID web tool. RESULTS: We found 55 significant DEGs (p<0.01) from the patients with LI and 20 highly significant DEGs (p<0.001) from those without it. Pathway analysis showed that DEGs associated with carbohydrate metabolism or with renal cell carcinoma pathways were enriched in the patients with and without LI, respectively. Using the top five prognostic marker genes, we generated survival scores that could be used to predict the 5-year survival of patients with OC without LI. CONCLUSION: The DEGs identified in this study could be used to elucidate the mechanism of tumor progression and to guide the prognosis and treatment of patients with serous OC but without LI.
Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/*genetics/*mortality/pathology ; Databases, Genetic ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Microarray Analysis ; Middle Aged ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*genetics/*mortality/pathology ; Prognosis ; Regression Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate