Expression of Polypeptide N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-6 in Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The family of polypeptide N-acetylgalactosanimyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts) are important factors in glycosylation in carcinomas. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of GalNAc-T6 and its correlation with the prognosis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 150 patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma were enrolled and the relationship between GalNAc-T6 expression by immunohistochemistry and long-term survival was evaluated. RESULTS: The expression of GalNAc-T6 was positive in 57.6% (34/59) of those with serous carcinoma, 85.3% (29/34) in mucinous carcinoma, 15.6% (5/27) in clear cell carcinoma, and 44% (14/25) in endometrioid carcinoma. In a Kaplan-Meier analysis of patients with grade 1 or 2 serous carcinoma, the 10-year overall survival rates were 47.4% in the GalNAc-T6-positive and 9.1% in the GalNAc-T6-negative groups (p=0.047). CONCLUSION: GalNAc-T6 expression in epithelial ovarian carcinoma was different according to pathological type. In low-grade serous carcinoma, GalNAc-T6 expression may contribute to improved long-term survival.