Relationship of cyclooxygenase-2 expression and chemotherapy resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer patients

Objective:To investigate the relationship between expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and chemotherapy resistance of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, and to study the relationship between COX-2 and p53 expression. Methods:Immunohistochemical assay (SP method) was used to detect the expressions of COX-2 and p53 in` 108 epithelial ovarian cancer tissues and 20 normal ovarian tissues . Results:COX-2 and p53 positive rates of 108 epithelial ovarian cancer tissues were 48.1% and 59.3% ,respectively . The expressions of COX-2 and p53 were higher in the patients with epithelial ovarian cancer than that in the patients with normal ovarian tissues(P0.01); and there was a significant positive correlation between COX-2 and p53 expression .There was no correlation between COX-2 and pathohistological types, clinical stage, pathohistological grade, age at diagnosis(P0.05) and there was significant correlation between COX-2 and the diameter of residual tumor(P0.01). In the drug resistance group , the expressions of COX-2 and p53 were significantly higher than that in the drug sensitive group(P0.01). According to multivariate analysis, the expressions of COX-2 and p53 and the diameter of residual tumor were independent factors correlated with drug resistance for the patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Conclusion:COX-2 is overexpressed in epithelial ovarian cancer ,and COX-2 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer is a risk factor for drug resistance. Inactivation of antioncogene p53 and overexpression of COX-2 may play an interaction in the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer.