Impact of mutational status on survival in low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or peritoneum

Background: Low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or peritoneum is a distinct, well-recognized histologic subtype characterized by young age at diagnosis, relative chemoresistance, and prolonged overall survival. Common mutations reported to be found within this subtype include KRAS and BRAF. Methods: Using clinical information of patients from our IRB-approved registry and tissue from a subset of these patients, we performed mutational analysis for KRAS and BRAF using the direct Sanger sequencing technique and correlated findings with the clinical outcome, overall survival (OS). Results: In 79 cases, patients with KRAS or BRAF mutations (n = 21) had a significantly better OS than those with wild-type KRAS or BRAF (n = 58) (106.7 months (95% CI, 50.6, 162.9) vs 66.8 months (95% CI, 43.6, 90.0)), respectively (P = 0.018). Conclusions: Mutational status appears to be a potential prognostic factor in low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or peritoneum.