The Application Value of HNF-1β Transcription Factor in the Diagnosis of Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of HNF-1 beta in various types of epithelial ovarian cancers and to discuss its utilization in the diagnosis of ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). This study was designed to detect HNF-1 beta proteins in 27 OCCCs, 35 high-grade serous carcinomas, 21 endometrioid adenocarcinomas, 10 mucinous carcinomas, 2 transitional cell carcinomas, and 13 metastatic Krukenberg tumors by EnVision immunohistochemical system. Twenty-three of 27 (85.2%) OCCCs showed diffuse moderate to strong nuclear staining for HNF-1 beta. In the 35 high-grade serous ovarian cancers, HNF-1 beta was detected in 1 (2.9%) case. Five of 21 (23.8%) ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas were positive for HNF-1 beta. Six cases of ovarian mucinous carcinomas displayed diffused moderate to strong nuclear HNF-1 beta expression, yielding a positive rate of 60%. In the 13 Krukenberg tumors, HNF-1 beta was detected in 7 cases with a positive rate of 53.8% and both ovary transitional cell carcinomas were negative for HNF-1 beta transcription factor. Compared with HNF-1 beta expression in OCCCs, serous carcinomas and endometrial adenocarcinomas were significantly lower (P<0.01). However, HNF-1 beta expression in mucinous carcinomas and Krukenberg tumors were not significantly different from the expression in OCCCs (P>0.05). Using HNF-1 beta as a diagnostic tool for OCCC showed a sensitivity and specificity of 85.2% and 76.5%, respectively. HNF-1 beta can serve as an OCCC marker with a relatively high sensitivity. The diffuse and strong HNF-1 beta expression pattern can be used to diagnose OCCCs with high specificity.