Prognostic significance of MyD88 expression by human epithelial ovarian carcinoma cells (Journal of Translational Medicine)

Background: MyD88 is an adaptor protein for TLR-4 signaling known to mediate paclitaxel resistance inepithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). This study examined the clinical significance of MyD88expression in EOC. Methods: MyD88 and TLR-4 expression were examined by immunocytochemistry in 109 specimens ofovarian tissues, comprising EOC (N = 83), borderline tumors (N = 9), benign cysts (N = 9) andnormal ovarian tissue (N = 8), and clinical data collected by a retrospective chart review. Thecorrelations between MyD88 expression and clinicopathological factors and outcomes wereanalyzed. Results: TLR-4 expression was detected frequently in all the ovarian tissues. Distinct MyD88expression was showed in EOC (64 of 83, 77.1 %), in borderline tumors (5 of 9, 55.6 %) andin benign cysts (3 of 9, 33.3 %), and normal ovarian tissue showed no MyD88 expression.Positive MyD88 expression significantly correlated with shorter disease-free and overallsurvival for EOC (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0031), and high MyD88 expression was significantlycorrelated with tumor metastasis (P = 0.0012) for EOC. Univariate and multivariate analysesrevealed that MyD88 expression was an independent prognostic factor for disease-freesurvival and overall survival for EOC. Conclusion: Our data indicate that MyD88 expression is a significantly poor prognostic factor for EOC. Abetter understanding of the role of MyD88 expression in disease progression and outcomemay be helpful for development of novel chemotherapies for patients with EOC.