Clinicopathological and Prognostic Value of Immunohistochemical Expression of CD44 (Stem Cell Marker) and Ki67 in Serous Ovarian Cancer

Introduction: Failure of effective treatment of epithelial carcinoma of the ovary necessitates searching factors that lead to resistance to chemotherapy and recurrence. Cancer stem cell theory hypothesis provides an explanation of how small group of cells inside the tumour remain resistant to treatment. CD44 has been considered as cancer stem cell marker in multiple malignancies but its role in Ovarian Serous Carcinoma (OSC) is still controversial. Aim: To investigate the expression of stem cell marker CD44 and proliferative activity using Ki67 immunostaining in serous ovarian carcinoma and their relation to clinical and pathological variables and outcome of the patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was a prospective study done on 45 patients with serous ovarian tumours, the ovarian sections obtained from the patients were immunostained by CD44 and Ki67 immunohistochemical markers. The Overall Survival (OS), Disease Free Survival (DFS) and response to treatment were investigated and analysed. Results: Both CD44 and Ki67 were positive in patients with increased grade and advanced stage and the difference was highly statistically significant (p=0.001 and p