CD8 and vimentin were associated with overall survival in patients with ovarian cancer treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

ObjectiveTo identify immunohistochemistry markers affecting the survival in patients with ovarian cancer receiving intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy. MethodsA retrospective review of medical records identified 24 patients with newly diagnosed stage III or IV high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma who underwent more than three cycles of IP chemotherapy at a tertiary hospital in Republic of Korea between 1990 and 2013. Immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissue for CD8, FOXP3, PDL1, E-cad and vimentin was performed. The level of expression was measured using established protocols of each marker and was dichotomized (high vs. low) using median value. The association of level of expression of each marker with progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) were examined. ResultsThe mean age was 44 years (range 27 to 59) and 23 patients were stage III. The median PFS was 15.3 months (range 0.4 to 148.3) and that of OS was 63.3 months (range 0.4 to 163.0). None of 5 markers were associated with PFS. However, CD8 (p=0.2) and vimentin (p=0.1) were marginally associated with OS. Patients with high CD8 or vimentin expression demonstrated a numerically longer PFS compared to those with low expression of both markers (median 19.7 months vs. 13.0 months, p = 0.073). Furthermore, patients with high CD8 or vimentin expression showed significantly improved OS compared to those with low expression of both markers (median 94.5 months vs. 25.4 months, p = 0.008). ConclusionCD8 and vimentin expression were correlated with OS in patients with ovarian carcinoma treated with IP chemotherapy.