Objective: To investigate the expression status of topoisomerase IIIa in epithelial ovarian tumor and the relationship between the expression status of topoisomerase IIIa and pathological type and clinical stage of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry was carried out in the samples of ovarian tumor obtained during operation from 169 patients, aged 28 approximately 59, 18 cases with serous cystadenoma, 30 cases with serous borderline cystadenoma, 37 serous cystadenocarcinoma, 10 cases with mucous cystadenoma, 20 mucous borderline cystadenoma, 26 mucous cystadenocarcinoma, 19 cases with endometrial carcinoma of ovary, and 9 cases with clear cell carcinoma.
Results: The expression rate of topoisomerase IIIa was 17.9% in the benign ovarian tumors, 74.0% in the borderline cystadenoma, and 42.7% in the malignant tumors with statistical significance among them (chi(2) = 24.657, P < 0.001). There was no correlation between the expression of topoisomerase IIIa and the clinical stage or pathological grade of the tumors (P = 0.903 and P = 0.844).
Conclusion: Topoisomerase IIIa is highly expressed in epithelial ovarian carcinoma, and its expression level is correlated with the character and type of tumor tissues.