C-MYC MESSENGER-RNA EXPRESSION IN EPITHELIAL OVARIAN CARCINOMAS IN RELATION TO ESTROGEN-RECEPTOR STATUS, METASTATIC SPREAD, SURVIVAL-TIME, FIGO STAGE, AND HISTOLOGIC GRADE AND TYPE

Recently, it has been suggested that c-myc expression might correlate with estrogen receptor (ER) status and metastatic spread in ovarian ca ncer. In this study, expression of c-myc mRNA in 90 epithelial ovarian carcinomas was determined using the S1 nuclease protection assay. Exp ression of c-myc mRNA was detectable in 27 of 90 tumors. There was no significant association between c-myc mRNA expression and metastatic s pread, survival time, FIGO stage, or histologic grade and type. C-myc mRNA was expressed in 45% of ER-positive tumors but only 24% of ER-neg ative rumors (p = 0.094; Fisher's exact test). Similarly, 44% of proge sterone receptor (PR)-positive and 23% of PR-negative tumors expressed c-myc mRNA (p = 0.098). However, the association between c-myc mRNA e xpression and ER and PR status was not statistically significant. The ratio of mean expression of c-myc mRNA in patients with FIGO stages II I/IV compared with patients with FIGO stages I/II was 2.1:1, an insign ificant difference (p = 0.57, Wilcoxon rank sum test). In conclusion, c-myc was not significantly associated with the clinical parameters in vestigated in this study.