AHRR and SFRP2 in primary versus recurrent high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and their prognostic implication

Background The aim of this study was to analyse transcriptomic differences between primary and recurrent high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) to identify prognostic biomarkers. Methods We analysed 19 paired primary and recurrent HGSOC samples using targeted RNA sequencing. We selected the best candidates using in silico survival and pathway analysis and validated the biomarkers using immunohistochemistry on a cohort of 44 paired samples, an additional cohort of 504 primary HGSOCs and explored their function. Results We identified 233 differential expressed genes. Twenty-three showed a significant prognostic value for PFS and OS in silico. Seven markers ( AHRR, COL5A2, FABP4, HMGCS2, ITGA5, SFRP2 and WNT9B ) were chosen for validation at the protein level. AHRR expression was higher in primary tumours ( p