Affiliations: [a] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga 520 2192, Japan | [b] Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga 520 2192, Japan | [c] Central Research Laboratory, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga 520 2192, Japan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Tokuhiro Chano, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Tsukinowa-cho, Seta, Otsu, Shiga 520 2192, Japan. Tel.: +81 77 548 2621; Fax: +81 77 548 2603; E-mail: chano@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Endometrioid ovarian carcinoma and clear cell ovarian carcinoma are both classified as endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC). Despite the high rates of recurrence and mortality of EAOC, no prognostic biomarkers have been determined. ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 4C (ARL4C) has been reported to be involved in various tumor progression processes, but its clinical significance for predicting prognosis in EAOC cases has never been studied. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to determine the clinical significance of ARL4C expression in EAOC prognosis. METHODS: ARL4C expression was semi-quantitatively evaluated via immunohistochemistry in 61 EAOC patients, and the correlations between ARL4C expression and clinicopathological data and survival were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-six (59%) cases had high levels of ARL4C, which was related to worse 5-year overall survival (OS) (log-rank test, p= 0.036). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard model, high ARL4C expression was a significantly independent predictive factor for worse 5-year OS (hazard ratio = 12.048, p= 0.0201) and 5-year PFS (hazard ratio = 8.130, p= 0.0036). CONCLUSIONS: ARL4C is a biomarker for worse prognosis and a novel therapeutic target in EAOC.
