The -124C>T mutation of TERT promoter indicated a favorable prognosis in OCCC: a monoinstitutional study in China

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is the second most common type of epithelial ovarian cancer. Patients with advanced or recurrent OCCC were resistant to chemotherapy and had poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to identify specific prognostic markers in ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Methods A cohort of 169 patients with OCCC were enrolled, and their clinicopathological features were reviewed. Mutations in the TERT promoter and PIK3CA gene were detected by Sanger sequencing in 87 and 109 cases, respectively. Immunohistochemical markers for ARID1A, HDAC6, Cyclin E1, and p53 were stained on the tissue microarrays. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analysis were used to assess the correlation between these parameters and prognosis. Results The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with the − 124 C > T mutation in the TERT promoter were significantly longer than those of wild-type patients. The − 124 C > T mutation was an independent factor associated with a favorable OS. Patients with the − 124 C > T mutation were more likely to have a normal preoperative serum CA125 level (P = 0.017), a higher prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (P = 0.014), and a lower probability of relapse (P = 0.025) than wild-type patients. No correlation between other factors and prognosis was observed in this cohort. Conclusion Our results suggest that the − 124C > T mutation in the TERT promoter may serve as a favorable prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with OCCC.