PDK1 is Expressed in Ovarian Serous Carcinoma and Correlates with Improved Survival in High-grade Tumors.

BACKGROUND/AIM: 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) mediates the cellular effects of various growth factors. Increased PDK1 expression is present in various cancers, suggesting that PDK1 may be a critical oncogene in cancer progression. However, only limited data exist on PDK1 expression in ovarian serous cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used tissue microarrays to analyze PDK1 expression in 253 primary ovarian serous carcinoma samples. RESULTS: A statistically significant negative correlation between PDK1 expression and tumor grade was found. In the high-grade group of ovarian serous carcinomas (n=189), there was a statistically significant difference in overall survival between cases with positive and negative PDK1 expression (p=0.035); positive cases showed longer overall survival. Multivariate analysis confirmed that slight PDK1 expression was an independent indicator for prolonged overall survival (HR=0.51, 95% CI=0.28-0.92, p=0.025). CONCLUSION: PDK1 appears to be a prognostic marker and a possible therapeutic target in ovarian serous carcinoma.