MUC5AC expression as a predictive biomarker of omental metastasis in primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma

Abstract

Background and aim: Primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma is an uncommon epithelial ovarian cancer subtype with poor advanced prognosis. Identifying predictive biomarker of early metastatic spread is essential for improving staging and therapeutic strategies. Mucin 5AC (MUC5AC), a secretory glycoprotein, has been linked to tumor progression and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). This study aimed to evaluate the association between MUC5AC expression and omental metastasis in primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to semi-quantitatively analyze MUC5AC expression in 63 paraffin-embedded tissue samples of primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using a rabbit polyclonal MUC5AC antibody. Expression levels were categorized as low or high based on intensity and distribution. A Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between MUC5AC expression and omental metastasis. Results: The study included 63 cases of primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma, consisting of 37 (58.7%) with omental metastasis and 26 (41.3%) without metastasis. High MUC5AC expression was observed in 86.5% of metastatic cases and in 50.0% of non-metastatic cases. This difference was statistically significant (P-value 0.002 [≤0.05]). Patients with high MUC5AC expression had a 6.40 times higher likelihood of omental metastasis than those with low expression (95% CI: 1.89–21.5). Conclusions: High MUC5AC expression was significantly associated with omental metastasis in primary mucinous ovarian carcinoma, supporting its potential role as a predictive biomarker for metastatic risk stratification. (www.actabiomedica.it)

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