Loss of tubal ciliated cells as a risk for "ovarian" or pelvic serous carcinoma

Tao Tao; Wanrun Lin; Yan Wang; Jing Zhang; Setsuko K Chambers; Bo Li; Jayanthi Lea; Yiying Wang; Yue Wang; Wenxin Zheng

Loss of tubal ciliated cells as a risk for "ovarian" or pelvic serous carcinoma

Am J Cancer Res. 2020 Nov 1;10(11):3815-3827. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Tao Tao¹, Wanrun Lin², Yan Wang², Jing Zhang³, Setsuko K Chambers^{4

5}, Bo Li^{6

7}, Jayanthi Lea^{7

8}, Yiying Wang¹, Yue Wang¹, Wenxin Zheng^{2

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Henan University People's Hospital Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
² Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁵ Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁶ Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics and Department of Immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.
⁷ Harold C Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.
⁸ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.

PMID: 33294269
PMCID: PMC7716167

Abstract

Recent advances suggest the fallopian tube as the main anatomic site for high-grade ovarian or pelvic serous carcinoma (O/PSC). Many studies on the biologic role of tubal secretory cells in O/PSC development has been performed in the last decade. However, the role of tubal ciliated cells in this regard has rarely been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if the change of the tubal ciliated cells is associated with serous neoplasia within the female pelvis. This study included 3 groups (low-risk or benign control, high-risk, and O/PSC) of patients and they were age-matched. Age of patients ranged from 20 to 85 and the age-associated data was stratified by 10-year intervals. The number of tubal ciliated cells was determined by microscopy and by tubulin immunohistochemical staining. The data was then professionally analyzed. The results showed that the absolute number of tubal ciliated cells decreased significantly with age within each age group. A reduction in ciliated cell counts within the tubal segments remained a significant risk factor for the development of serous cancers within the female pelvis after age adjustment. A dramatic decrease of tubal ciliated cells was identified in patients with high-risk and with O/PSC compared to those in the benign control or low-risk group (P < 0.001). Further, within the tubal fimbria, the number of ciliated cells reduction was more prominent in the high-risk group when compared to those of O/PSC patients. Our findings suggest that a decreased number of ciliated cells within women's fallopian tubes represents another histologic hallmark for early serous carcinogenesis. There is a relationship between loss of tubal ciliated cells and aging, the presence of high-risk factors for tubal-ovarian cancer, and co-existing O/PSCs. This represents an initial study identifying the role of tubal ciliated cells in the development of high-grade serous carcinoma in women's pelvis.

Keywords: Fallopian tube; carcinogenesis; extra-uterine serous cancers; ovarian cancer; oviduct; pathogenesis; pelvic serous carcinoma; tubal ciliated cells; tubal-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma.