Humans ; Breast/pathology* ; Cystadenocarcinoma/pathology* ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous/pathology* ; Female

Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Ovary ; pathology

Ovarian tumors comprise a heterogeneous group of lesions, displaying distinct tumor pathology and oncogenic potentiel. These tumors are subdivided into three main categories: epithelial, germ cell, and sex-cord stromal tumors. We report herein the newly described molecular abnormalities in epithelial ovarian cancers (carcinomas). Immunohistochemistry and molecular testing help pathologists to decipher the significant heterogeneity of this disease. Our better understanding of the molecular basis of ovarian carcinomas represents the first step in the development of targeted therapies in the near future.
Carcinoma, Endometrioid ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Mixed Tumor, Malignant ; pathology ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; pathology ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo detect hypermethylated tumor-specific RASSF1A DNA in the circulation and its significance in ovarian cancers patients.

METHODSMethylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) was used to study the hypermethylation of RASSF1A in preoperative serum samples from 51 ovarian cancer patients.

RESULTSThe RASSF1A gene was not methylated in peripheral blood samples from 51 normal patients and 51 patients with benign ovarian tumors. Hypermethylation of RASSF1A gene was found in circulating tumor-specific DNA in 43.1% of patients (22 out of 51 cases) with ovarian cancers (P < 0.05). There was no difference in hypermethylation of RASSF1A gene amongst various ovarian cancer subtypes (P < 0.05). On the other hand, hypermethylation of RASSF1A gene was more frequently encountered in stage III and IV than stage I and II tumors (P < 0.05). It was rarely seen in well and moderately differentiated groups, as compared with poorly differentiated group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThere is a higher frequency of RASSF1A hypermethylation in circulating tumor-specific DNA of ovarian cancer patients. RASSF1A has been postulated to play an important role as tumor suppressor gene and can be silenced by promoter hypermethylation. This methylation correlates with clinical stage and histopathologic grade. Such observation may carry diagnostic and prognostic implications when assessing ovarian tumors.

Carcinoma, Endometrioid ; blood ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; blood ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; blood ; pathology ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; blood ; genetics

Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; secondary ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; pathology ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; pathology

Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; pathology ; surgery ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Ovariectomy ; methods ; Prognosis

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer mortality. One of the initiating events of cancer metastasis of epithelial tumors is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), during which cells dedifferentiate from a relatively rigid cell structure/morphology to a flexible and changeable structure/morphology often associated with mesenchymal cells. The presence of EMT in human epithelial tumors is reflected by the increased expression of genes and levels of proteins that are preferentially present in mesenchymal cells. The combined presence of these genes forms the basis of mesenchymal gene signatures, which are the foundation for classifying a mesenchymal subtype of tumors. Indeed, tumor classification schemes that use clustering analysis of large genomic characterizations, like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), have defined mesenchymal subtype in a number of cancer types, such as high-grade serous ovarian cancer and glioblastoma. However, recent analyses have shown that gene expression-based classifications of mesenchymal subtypes often do not associate with poor survival. This "paradox" can be ameliorated using integrated analysis that combines multiple data types. We recently found that integrating mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) data revealed an integrated mesenchymal subtype that is consistently associated with poor survival in multiple cohorts of patients with serous ovarian cancer. This network consists of 8 major miRNAs and 214 mRNAs. Among the 8 miRNAs, 4 are known to be regulators of EMT. This review provides a summary of these 8 miRNAs, which were associated with the integrated mesenchymal subtype of serous ovarian cancer.
Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; genetics ; pathology ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Female ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; physiology ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma is a rare tumor. Only about 30 such cases have been reported in the worldwide literature, and a few Korean cases have been reported. The pathogenesis is not clear, and coelomic metaplasia of the retroperitoneal mesothelium has gained wide support. There is no consensus on the appropriate treatment, but surgical exploration is needed for the diagnosis and treatment, and adjuvant chemotherapy may be recommended following complete surgical excision. The long-term prognosis has not been established. We report here on a 32-year-old woman who was diagnosed as having a retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma with mural nodules of sarcomatoid change. Tumor excision and adjuvant chemotherapy were done and the patient is doing well without any evidence of recurrence at 42 months postoperatively.
Adult ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous/*diagnosis/pathology/surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/surgery

Cell Line, Tumor ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; pathology

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; pathology ; Ovary ; pathology