AEG-1 as a predictor of sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVES: Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) plays a critical role in tumor progression and chemoresistance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protein expression of AEG-1 in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) who underwent debulking surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The protein expression of AEG-1 was analyzed using immunohistochemistry in 162 patients with EOC. The relationship between AEG-1 expression and chemotherapy resistance was assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with covariate adjustments. RESULTS: High AEG-1 expression was significantly associated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, age, serum cancer antigen-125 concentration, histological grade, the presence of residual tumor after the interval debulking surgery, and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, AEG-1 expression was significantly higher in NAC-resistant disease than in NAC-sensitive disease (P<0.05). Multivariate analyses indicated that elevated AEG-1 expression predicted poor survival. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that AEG-1 may be a potential new biomarker for predicting chemoresistance and poor prognoses in patients with EOC.