부산대학교 도서관

Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) is one of the most malignant types of ovarian carcinomas, particularly at advanced stages. Unlike the more common type of ovarian cancer, high-grade serous carcinoma, ovarian CCC is often resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy, and therefore an effective treatment for this tumor type at advanced stages is urgently needed. In this study, we analyzed 97 ovarian CCCs for sequence mutations in KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, TP53, PTEN, and CTNNB1as these mutations frequently occur in other major types of ovarian carcinomas. The samples included 18 CCCs for which affinity-purified tumor cells from fresh specimens were available, 69 microdissected tumors from paraffin tissues, and 10 tumor cell lines. Sequence mutations of PIK3CA, TP53, KRAS, PTEN, CTNNB1, and BRAFoccurred in 33%, 15%, 7%, 5%, 3%, and 1% of CCC cases, respectively. Sequence analysis of PIK3CAin 28 affinity-purified CCCs and CCC cell lines showed a mutation frequency of 46%. Samples with PIK3CAmutations showed intense phosphorylated AKT immunoreactivity. These findings demonstrate that ovarian CCCs have a high frequency of activating PIK3CAmutations. We therefore suggest that the use of PIK3CA-targeting drugs may offer a more effective therapeutic approach compared with current chemotherapeutic agents for patients with advanced-stage and recurrent CCC.