IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASE-PI EXPRESSION IN OVARIAN-TUMORS

Objective: To explore the association between Glutathione S-transferas e (GST) -pi expression and clinicopathologic features in ovarian tumor s. Study Design: Immunohistochemical study was made to investigate GST -pi expression in diverse ovarian tumors. Results: All 75 ovarian tumo rs expressed GST-pi. There was no significant association between GST- pi immunopositivity and clinicopathological features. In serous cystad enocarcinoma, however, patients with weak GST-pi expression survived l onger than those with moderate or strong GST-pi expression. Three of t he 8 tumors that had expressed weak GST-pi initially increased GST-pi expression after chemotherapy. Conclusion: GST-pi expression is common in ovarian tumors and malignant tumors expressed more GST-pi than ben ign tumors. GST-pi might play a major role in the development of drug resistance in certain ovarian tumors and could be a useful marker of n atural resistance and their future outcome. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.