Immunohistochemical expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in uterine serous carcinoma tissue

Abstract

Joseph Menczer, Letizia Schreiber, Esther Berger, Tally Levy

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in uterine serous carcinoma (USC) tissue, to correlate it with clinicopathological prognostic factors in order to assess whether selective COX-2 inhibitors may be effective in the treatment in this tumor. Materials and Methods: COX-2 expression assessment by immunohistochemistry was performed on deparaffinized sections of paraffinembedded tissue blocks of consecutive available USC uterine specimens of patients diagnosed from 2000 to 2014. Staining of more than 10% of the cells was considered positive. Staining intensity was graded on a 0-3 scale. A scoring index was calculated by multiplying the intensity grade by the percentage of stained cells and considered low when it was equal to 1 or less and high when it was more than 1. Clinicopathological data were retrospectively abstracted from the records of the study group patients. Results: The study comprised uterine specimens of 31 USC patients. Positive immunohistochemical staining was observed in 25 (80.6%), USC specimens and a high score in 6 (19.4%) of them. No association between immunohistochemical staining parameters and clinicopathological prognostic factors was observed. Conclusion: Although our findings should be verified in larger series, it seems that in view of the lack of association between immunohistochemical COX-2 staining parameters in USC tissue and clinicopathological prognostic factors; this aggressive tumor is not a candidate for the use of selective COX-2 inhibitors.