Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Aug;26(8):1101-10.
doi: 10.1038/modpathol.2013.35. Epub 2013 Mar 22.

The clinicopathologic significance of p53 and BAF-250a (ARID1A) expression in clear cell carcinoma of the endometrium

Oluwole Fadare  1 , Katja Gwin, Mohamed M Desouki, Marta A Crispens, Howard W Jones 3rd, Dineo Khabele, Sharon X Liang, Wenxin Zheng, Khaled Mohammed, Jonathan L Hecht, Vinita Parkash
Affiliations

The clinicopathologic significance of p53 and BAF-250a (ARID1A) expression in clear cell carcinoma of the endometrium

Oluwole Fadare et al. Mod Pathol. 2013 Aug.

Abstract

TP53 mutation (and associated p53 protein overexpression) is probably a negative prognostic marker in endometrial cancers, but its relevance in the rarer histologic subtypes, including clear cell carcinomas, has not been delineated. Preclinical studies suggest functional interactions between p53 and the BAF250a protein, the product of a tumor suppressor gene ARID1A (adenine-thymine (AT)-rich interactive domain containing protein 1A) that is frequently mutated in ovarian clear cell carcinoma. In this study, we evaluated the significance of p53 and BAF250a expression, as assessed by immunohistochemistry, in a group of 50 endometrial clear cell carcinomas. Of 50 cases, 17 (34%) were p53+, and the remaining 33 cases had a p53 wild-type (p53-wt) immunophenotype. Of the 11 relapses/recurrences in the entire data set, 73% were in the p53+ group (P=0.008). On univariate analyses, the median overall survival for the p53-wt patients (83 months) was longer than the p53+ patients (63 months) (P=0.07), and the median progression-free survival for the p53-wt group (88 months) was significantly longer than the p53+ group (56 months) (P=0.01). On multivariate analyses, p53 expression was not associated with reduced overall or progression-free survival. In addition, p53 status was not significantly associated with pathologic stage or morphologic patterns. Of the 50 cases, 10 (20%) showed a complete loss of BAF250a expression. There was no significant correlation between p53 and BAF250a expression. The p53+/BAF250a-, p53+/BAF250a+, p53-wt/BAF250a+ and p53-wt/BAF250a- composite immunophenotypes were identified in 8%, 26%, 54% and 12% of cases, respectively, and neither loss of BAF250a expression nor composite p53/BAF250a expression patterns were associated with reduced overall or progression-free survival. In conclusion, a significant subset of CCC express p53, and these cases are apparently not definable by their morphologic features. P53 expression may be a negative prognostic factor in this histotype, and warrants additional studies. Loss of BAF250a expression has no prognostic significance in endometrial clear cell carcinomas.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clear cell carcinoma, morphologic features
Figure 2
Figure 2
Clear cell carcinoma, classified as “p53-positive” due to strong diffuse immunoreactivity
Figure 3
Figure 3
Clear cell carcinoma, classified as displaying a “p53-wild type” immunophenotype due to heterogenous, sporadic and non-confluent pattern of p53 immunoreactivity
Figure 4
Figure 4
Clear cell carcinoma, BAF250a-weakly positive
Figure 5
Figure 5
Clear cell carcinoma, BAF250a-strongly positive; background inflammatory and stromal cells are also positive
Figure 6
Figure 6
Clear cell carcinoma, BAF250a-negative; background inflammatory and stromal cells retain BAF250a expression
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Creasman WT, Odicino F, Maisonneuve P, Quinn MA, Beller U, Benedet JL, Heintz AP, Ngan HY, Pecorelli S. Carcinoma of the corpus uteri. FIGO 26th Annual Report on the Results of Treatment in Gynecological Cancer. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2006;95 (Suppl 1):S105–43. - PubMed
    1. Hamilton CA, Cheung MK, Osann K, Chen L, Teng NN, Longacre TA, Powell MA, Hendrickson MR, Kapp DS, Chan JK. Uterine papillary serous and clear cell carcinomas predict for poorer survival compared to grade 3 endometrioid corpus cancers. Br J Cancer. 2006;94:642–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McMeekin DS, Filiaci VL, Thigpen JT, Gallion HH, Fleming GF, Rodgers WH Gynecologic Oncology Group study. The relationship between histology and outcome in advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer patients participating in first-line chemotherapy trials: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study. Gynecol Oncol. 2007;106:16–22. - PubMed
    1. Olawaiye AB, Boruta DM., 2nd Management of women with clear cell endometrial cancer: a Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) review. Gynecol Oncol. 2009;113:277–83. - PubMed
    1. Fadare O. The Molecular Pathogenesis of Endometrial Clear Cell Carcinoma: Unclear, Uncertain and Possibly Heterogeneous. Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2012;7:109–112.

Publication types

MeSH terms