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Background Human epidermal growth factor receptor-3 (HER3) is a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family of receptor tyrosine kinases, and its overexpression is associated with inferior prognosis in several cancers. However, it is unclear whether HER3 expression status changes in tumor tissue at recurrence. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the changes in HER3 expression between primary and recurrent status in gynecological cancers. Methods This retrospective study used matched-pair tissues of gynecological cancer patients at initial diagnosis and at recurrence. Immunohistochemical (IHC) scores of 3 + or 2 + were termed “HER3-high”, while IHC scores of 1 + or 0 were designated as “HER3-low/zero”. Results A total of 86 patients (40 with ovarian cancers, 32 with endometrial cancers, and 14 with cervical cancers) were included in this study. In ovarian cancer, 67.5% and 80.0% of the patients received a HER3-high at initial and recurrent diagnosis, respectively. The H-score was significantly increased at recurrence (p = 0.004). The proportion of HER3-high endometrial cancer patients increased from 46.9% at initial diagnosis to 68.8% at recurrence, and the H-score tended to increase at recurrence (p = 0.08). The fraction of HER3-high-rated cervical cancer patients remained unchanged at 85.7% both at initial and recurrent diagnosis. The discordance rate of HER3 expression detection in initial and recurrent diagnosis samples was 27.5%, 53.1%, and 14.3% for ovarian, endometrial, and cervical cancers, respectively. Ovarian and endometrial cancers with a HER3-high recurrent score tended to show shorter median survival time than those with a HER3-low/zero recurrent rating. Conclusion Our findings suggest that, in main types of gynecological cancers, the proportion of patients having a HER3-high score increased from initial to recurrent diagnosis.

This study aimed to clarify the genetic features of endometrioid-type endometrial cancer arising in adenomyosis (EC-AIA) using targeted sequencing and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for both carcinoma and adjacent adenomyosis tissues. We identified three endometrioid-type EC-AIAs in 689 patients with endometrial cancer; two exhibited grade 3 endometrioid carcinoma. IHC revealed retained expression of PMS2, MSH6, ARID1A, and PAX2. Two of them showed diffuse strong p53 expression only in the carcinoma. PTEN expression was lost in carcinoma of only one of these cases. Carcinoma had many gene mutations than adjacent adenomyosis in all cases. KRAS and TP53 mutations were found in two of them. The other patient had mutations in KRAS, PIK3CA, and PPP2R1A. They were classified as two "p53-mutated" and one "non-specific molecular profile." These molecular alterations in endometrioid-type EC-AIA imply similar carcinogenesis to a subset of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma and might be used as targets of liquid biopsy after further validation.

The formation of gastrointestinal-type epithelium is found in 7–13% of mature cystic teratomas, which are the most common germ cell tumors of the ovary. Few cases harboring organized gastrointestinal tract formation have been reported, and a mucinous neoplasm arising in them is further rare. Here, we report a case of an ovarian mature cystic teratoma with intestinal structures harboring intestinal-type mucinous neoplasm, mimicking low-grade appendiceal mucinous cystadenoma. A 66-year-old female, with remarkably increased serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy due to the ovarian tumor. The immunoprofile of the tumor showed CK7−/CK20+. We review the past literatures, and then consider that the existence of mucinous neoplasm should be kept in mind if we find elevated level of serum CEA and the organized gastrointestinal development in an ovary. The immunoprofile of CK7/CK20 is useful to determine the origin of mucinous tumors associated with mature cystic teratomas.