Significance of hyaluronan binding protein (HABP1/P32/gC1qR) expression in advanced serous ovarian cancer patients

BackgroundTo evaluate various risk factors related to the overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in 131 patients with stage III-IV ovarian serous carcinoma.MethodsAll patients underwent primary debulking surgery followed by a standard chemotherapeutic treatment regimen. Hyaluronan binding protein (HABP1) expression was evaluated using immunohistochemical-staining and assessed using western-immunoblotting analyses. A log-rank test was used to compare OS and PFS between cisplatin sensitive versus resistant patients. Multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors associated with OS and PFS.ResultsHABP1 over-expression was correlated to histological-differentiation, residual-tumor-size, serum CA-125 levels and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that increased expression of HABP1 was associated with cisplatin resistance. HABP1 low-expression resulted in an increased five-year OS and PFS. Cox proportional hazards test identified that high expression of HABP1 led to increased risk for stage III/IV serous ovarian cancer via poor OS and PFS. This was similar for cisplatin resistant patients. Thus, increased HABP1 immunoreactivity in ovarian cancer may lead to a shortening in disease-free intervals of patients.ConclusionHAPBP1 over-expression in primary ovarian carcinomas is related to a decrease in OS and PFS and may be utilized as a prognostic marker for stage III/IV patients.