The role of stathmin expression in the differential diagnosis, prognosis, and potential treatment of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors

• Published in: Diagnostic pathology 2024-08, Vol.19 (1), p.118-9, Article 118
• Main Authors: Šafanda, Adam, Kendall Bártů, Michaela, Michálková, Romana, Švajdler, Marián, Shatokhina, Tetiana, Laco, Jan, Matěj, Radoslav, Méhes, Gábor, Drozenová, Jana, Hausnerová, Jitka, Špůrková, Zuzana, Škarda, Jozef, Hácová, Mária, Náležinská, Monika, Dundr, Pavel, Němejcová, Kristýna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Diagnosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Differential diagnosis; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Malignancy; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; Mitosis; Mutation; Ovarian Neoplasms - diagnosis; Ovarian Neoplasms - metabolism; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; Ovarian Neoplasms - therapy; Ovarian tumors; Ovaries; Ovary; Prognosis; Sex; Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumors - diagnosis; Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumors - metabolism; Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumors - pathology; Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumors - therapy; Sex cord-stromal tumors; Stathmin; Stathmin - analysis; Stathmin - metabolism; Tumors; Variables
• ISSN: 1746-1596; 1746-1596
• DOI: 10.1186/s13000-024-01541-x

Stathmin, a cytosolic microtubule-destabilizing phosphoprotein involved in the regulation of mitosis, is widely expressed in various malignancies and acts as an adverse prognostic factor. Our research analyzed its immunohistochemical expression on a large cohort of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors, evaluating its potential utility in differential diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic application. We examined 390 cases of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors including 281 adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCT), 5 juvenile granulosa cell tumors (JGCT), 33 Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCT), 50 fibromas/thecomas (F/T), 11 Leydig cell tumors/steroid cell tumors (LCT/SterCT), 5 sex-cord stromal tumors NOS (SCST-NOS), 3 Sertoli cell tumors (SCT), and 2 sclerosing stromal tumors (ScST). Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using TMAs. Strong expression (> 50%) was observed in all cases of AGCT, JGCT, SLCT, SCST-NOS, SCT and 1 ScST. The other case of ScST exhibited mild expression (5-10%). The negative cases included exclusively F/T and LCT/SterCT, with F/T showing 24% of negative cases and LCT/SterCT comprising 64% of negative cases. The results of our study indicate that stathmin is neither a prognostic marker nor suitable for the differential diagnosis of challenging cases of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors. However, its predictive value may be theoretically significant, as a decrease in stathmin expression potentialy influences response to chemotherapy treatment.