Epithelial ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease and many biologic and molecular factors are important for its development and progression, including growth rate, metastatic potential, chemo- and radiosensitivity, and prognosis. Even in the early stages (FIGO I-II), many questions persist about the biologic behavior, optimal treatment, and prognosis. In a series of 106 patients with
epithelial ovarian cancers in FIGO stages IA-IIC, a number of known prognostic factors (age, FIGO stage, histopathologic type, and
tumor grade) were studied in relation to two important
growth factor receptors for
oncogenesis (HER-2/neu and EGFR). Immunohistochemical techniques were used. All patients received
adjuvant radiotherapy 4-6 weeks after the primary surgery. In a univariate analysis, the expression of the HER-2/
neu receptor was not associated with any of the clinicopathologic factors studied or survival status. Positive EGFR staining was associated with poor survival in a univariate analysis. Co-expression of HER-2/neu and EGFR was most frequently seen in serous
tumors and positive staining for HER-2/neu alone was associated with mucinous
tumors. Both endometrioid and clear cell
tumors belonged to the largest subgroup with concomitant negativity for both HER-2/neu and EGFR. In a multivariate Cox analysis, the
tumor grade and EGFR status of the
tumors were independent and significant prognostic factors. A therapeutic strategy for
epithelial ovarian cancer might be to decrease EGFR expression by gene therapy in combination with
adjuvant radiotherapy or
chemotherapy.