Assessment of expression of luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LH/hCGR) and hCG protein in ovarian cancer tissues

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: Ovarian cancers still remain a significant worldwide epidemiological problem. The vast majority of newly diagnosed cases are in advanced clinical stages, and the five -year survival rate in all clinical stages amounts up to less than fifty percent. A better understanding of the biology of ovarian cancer can bring us closer to successful treatment and recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LH/hCGR) and the expression of hCG protein in the ovarian cancer tissue. Materials: Histologically proven primary ovarian cancer samples (n=20) were obtained from women undergoing gynecologic surgery. Frozen sections of ovarian cancer tissues were evaluated by means of indirect immunofluorescence. Results: The expression of hCG protein was ubiquitous throughout all samples, while LH/hCGR was detected in only sixty percent of samples. Co-expression of LH/hCGR and hCG protein was detected in some individual cells in tumor tissue. Some cancer cells expressed only hCG protein, but not LH/hCGR. Conclusions: Expression of LH/hCG receptor is a characteristic feature of various histological types of ovarian cancer. Co-expression of LH/hCGR and hCG protein in individual cancer cells may point to an autocrine or paracrine mechanism of _hCG activity in the tumor microenvironment. Further studies are needed to evaluate LH/hCGR and hCG protein function in the course of neoplastic development.