Vessel density, genetic mutations mark lowered survival in gynecological cancer.(Brief Article)

2002 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Genetic alterations on a gene responsible for suppressing cancer formation are associated with an overgrowth of tumor vessels in ovarian cancers.

Women bearing ovarian cancers with a surplus of such vessels have lowered odds for survival, according to M.J. Goodheart and team of investigators at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa, City.

They examined 77 ovarian cancers for mutations on the p53 tumor suppressor gene, which when working properly disables the growth of abnormal cells. They also counted tumor microvessel density, the number of observable vessels within a designated field when viewed with a microscope, matching those results with identifiable p53 mutations and with surgical staging based on FIGO (Federation Internationale de Gynecologie et d'Obstetrique) classifications.

For stages I, II, III, and IV, average microvessel density counts were 10.2, 10.7, 13.8, and 22.0, respectively, the data showed.

Goodheart's team observed the lowest numbers of microvessels in ovarian cancers with wild-type p53 genes, slightly more in those with missense mutations, and the highest in cancers with null p53 mutation.

Their analysis detected a significant correlation between tumor stage and grade, the kind of p53 mutation present, and microvessel density (Ovarian cancer p53 mutation is ...