Cyclin E and p53: The Dynamic Duo in Ovarian Tumor Pathogenesis

Objectives : The aim of this study is to report on the expression of p53 and cyclin E in ovarian tumors and to analyze their correlations with the clinicopathological parameters. Another aim is to examine if aberrant expression of both cyclin E and p53 might increase the malignant potential of ovarian tumors. Methods : Seventy-two paraffin-embedded ovarian tumor tissues were immuno-histochemically investigated for expression of p53, and cyclin E. The tumor tissues were benign (15), borderline (12), and malignant ovarian tumors (45). The expression of these two markers was analyzed with the correlations with the clinicopathological parameters in a subgroup of 34 epithelial ovarian cancers. Results : p53 and cyclin E expression was markedly increased in malignant ovarian tumors as compared to benign tumors p-value= (0.002, 0.014) respectively. Expression of p53 in epithelial ovarian cancer tissues was significantly correlated with the stage of the tumor (p=0.015), whereas cyclin E expression was significantly associated with the histomorphologic tumor type (p= 0.001). There was significant correlation between p53 and cyclin E expression in the 72 ovarian tumor tissues p= 0.019. Conclusions : There was a positive association between the expression of p53 and cyclin E and malignant progression of ovarian tumors. In epithelial ovarian cancers, p53 and cyclin E expressions were significantly correlated with the stage and histomorphologic tumor type, respectively.