Prognostic and predictive value of tumour angiogenesis in ovarian carcinomas

✍ Scribed by Giampietro Gasparini; Emanuela Bonoldi; Giuseppe Viale; Paolo Verderio; Patrizia Boracchi; Gino A. Panizzoni; Umberto Radaelli; Alessandra Di Bacco; Rosa B. Guglielmi; Pierantonio Bevilacoua

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 754 KB
• Volume: 69
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19960621)69:3<205::aid-ijc10>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

Experimental studies suggest that angiogenesis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ascites and progression of ovarian cancer. To evaluate the association of intratumoral microvessel density (IMD) with the conventional clinicopathologic features and to determine the capability of these factors in predicting responsiveness to platinum-based chemotherapy and overall survival ( 0 s ) we studied I I 2 ovarian carcinomas. IMD was determined using the anti-CD3 I antibody and immunocytochemistry. In the entire series, we correlated IMD with the other features. In the subgroup of patients with FlGO stage Ill-IV (60 cases), we correlated the factors studied, determined prior of treatment, with response to therapy and prognosis. The median IMD value, in the "hot spot", in the entire series was of 48 microvessels/field. IMD values were significantly higher in mucinous carcinomas than in the other histologic types. In FlGO stage Ill-IV patients IMD, age and performance status (PS) were significantly associated with the probability of pathologic response to chemotherapy in univariate analysis. However, only IMD and PS retained significance in multivariate analysis. The overall capability of the 2 variables to predict response was high. In FlGO stage Ill-IV patients IMD, age, PS, the amount of post-operative residual disease (PORD), histologic type and response to chemotherapy were significant prognostic indicators of 0 s in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis only histologic type, PORD and PS retained significance. The overall capability of these 3 variables to predict 0 s was satisfactory. o 1996 Wile/-Liss, hzc.

Carcinoma of the ovary has the highest mortality rate among gynecological malignancies and is the 4th leading cause of death for cancer in women aged 55-74 (Wingo et al., 1995). Approximately 70% of patients have advanced disease at diagnosis. Although ovarian cancer has a propensity to remain