Expression of two mucin antigens in cultured human ovarian surface epithelium: influence of a family history of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cells from women with family histories of ovarian or breast cancer behave differently in culture compared with cells from women without such a history. Cell samples of the ovarian outer layer were obtained from women having gynecologic surgery for nonmalignant problems. Eighteen women had no parents, siblings, or children with breast or ovarian cancer, five women had a family history but were not believed to have hereditary cancer, and seven women had a strong family history of cancer. Cells were analyzed for the cancer marker CA 125 and examined under the microscope. CA 125 production declined markedly in successive generations of cells in women with no family history or a minor family history but remained the same in women with a family history. Cells from women with no family history transformed from skin-like cells to connective tissue-like cells, whereas cells from women with a strong history maintained their skin cell-like appearance and women with a weak family history fell in between.