1036 The prognostic role of beta-catenin in patients with advanced stage serous ovarian cancer

Introduction/Background* Serous ovarian cancer is the most common sub-type of epithelial ovarian cancer and is the leading cause of cancer-related death among gynecologic cancer patients. Beta-catenin plays a vital role in the genesis of certain types of cancers. Its implications in the survival and prognosis of patients with serous ovarian cancer is not yet fully understood. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between beta-catenin expression, as well as certain other clinical and pathohistological characteristics of serous ovarian cancers, with the overall patient survival in advanced stage cases. Methodology We conducted immunohistochemical analysis in tumor specimens from 40 patients to determine the expression of beta-catenin. We analyzed the relationship between beta-catenin expression and the FIGO disease stage and the tumor grade. We used Kaplan-Meier statistics to analyze the prognosis. Result(s)* We detected increased expression of beta-catenin in patients with FIGO Stage III or IV (p=0.0003). We did not detect a statistically significant association between beta-catenin expression and tumor grade (p=0.817). The positive expression of beta-catenin was associated with shorter average survival (p=0.034). There was no statistically significant relationship between beta-catenin expression and other pathohistological tumor features. Conclusion* Beta-catenin expression is associated with poorer prognosis in patients with serous ovarian cancer.