Expression and Clinical Significance of the NCAPH, AGGF1, and FOXC2 Proteins in Serous Ovarian Cancer

Yingying Sun,1,* Xuan Wang,1,* Hexin Wen,2 Bo Zhu,1,3 Lan Yu1,3 1Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, People’s Republic of China; 3Bengbu Medical College, Anhui Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunology, Bengbu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lan YuDepartment of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, 287, Changhuai Road, Bengbu, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-18555520163Email yulan790210@163.comPurpose: Recurrence and metastasis are the most common causes of high mortality rates in patients with serous ovarian cancer (SOC). Non-structural maintenance of chromosomes (non-SMC) condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH) is a newly identified essential oncoprotein whose function in SOC pathogenesis has not been reported yet. Angiogenic factor with G patch and FHA domains 1 (AGGF1) is an effective promoter of angiogenesis in humans, leading to cancer cell infiltration and progression. Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) plays a pivotal role in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The present study analyzed the correlations among the expressions of these three proteins and their relationships with the clinicopathological characteristics and survival of patients with SOC.Patients and Methods: The expressions of NCAPH, AGGF1, and FOXC2 were detected by the immunohistochemical examination of 153 SOC tissue samples and 30 serous ovarian cystadenoma tissue samples. Clinicopathologic and follow-up data of the patients were collected.Results: The expressions of NCAPH, AGGF1, and FOXC2 were remarkably higher in the SOC tissue samples than in the serous ovarian cystadenoma tissue samples. The protein expressions were positively correlated with the histological tumor grade, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, lymph node metastasis, and intraperitoneal implantation, but were negatively correlated with the overall survival (OS). Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that the NCAPH, AGGF1, and FOXC2 expressions, FIGO stage, and histological tumor grade were independent adverse prognostic factors for OS in patients with SOC.Conclusion: The results of this study show that the expressions of NCAPH, AGGF1, and FOXC2 are promising biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets in patients with SOC.Keywords: serous ovarian cancer, NCAPH, AGGF1, FOXC2, cancer prognosis