Immunohistochemical expression of vimentin monoclonal antibody in ovarian surface epithelial tumors in correlation with clinicopathological parameters
Dr. Ola Alaa Shaker, Dr. Hadi M AL-Mosawi and Dr. Nadia Moder Al-Hilly
Background: Ovarian epithelial tumors, comprising 90% of Western ovarian cancers, have subtypes like serous, endometrioid, clear cell, mucinous, seromucinous, and Brenner. Risk factors include genetics, reproductive history, and lifestyle factors. Prognosis depends on stage, residual disease, and grade, with over 90% 5-year survival in stage 1 and 30% in stage 3; vimentin plays a key role in maintaining cell shape and cytoskeletal stability. The research examines vimentin monoclonal antibody immunohistochemistry in ovarian surface epithelial tumours and its connection with clinicopathological characteristics.
Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study at Babylon Training Center for Pathology examined 55 ovarian epithelial tumor cases, using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks primarily obtained through excisional biopsy at Al-Hilla Teaching Hospital. Immunohistochemical staining with vimentin antibody (Clone: BSB-v9) was employed, with parallel positive and negative controls, including leiomyoma for positive control. Vimentin scoring relied on color intensity in over 50% of the cell population.
Results: Among 55 ovarian surface epithelial tumors, 65.4% were benign, with serous cystadenoma being the most common. Malignant cases constituted 20%, primarily serous cystadenocarcinoma. Borderline tumors accounted for 14.5%, with mucinous and serous subtypes being the most prevalent at 50% and 37.5%, respectively.
Conclusion: Vimentin expression varies between benign, borderline, and malignant ovarian surface epithelial neoplasms, epithelial-mesenchymal transition processes may be implicated in the pathogenesis of serous ovarian tumours, and all serous borderline tumours and carcinomas express vimentin.
