TY - JOUR T1 - Expression of Adhesion Molecules and the Proliferative Activity of Carcinosarcoma of the Ovary JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 7351 LP - 7356 VL - 34 IS - 12 AU - HIROSHI HIRANO AU - TOMOHIKO KIZAKI AU - TAKASHI ITO AU - AKIRA OKIMURA AU - KOJI YAMANEGI AU - KEIJI NAKASHO Y1 - 2014/12/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/12/7351.abstract N2 - Background: To clarify the mechanism underlying the formation of a sarcomatous component of ovarian carcinosarcoma, we investigated the expression of adhesion molecules and the proliferative activity of carcinosarcomas. Materials and Methods: We immunohistochemically examined the expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin, and the Ki-67 labeling index (Ki-67 LI) in six carcinosarcomas containing endometrioid carcinoma as a carcinomatous component. Results: The sarcomatous components of the carcinosarcomas did not express E-cadherin or β-catenin. All carcinomatous components expressed these molecules but the expression was reduced compared to that in endometrioid ovarian carcinomas. In five of the six carcinosarcomas, the Ki-67 LI of the sarcomatous component was less than that of the carcinomatous component. Conclusion: The present results suggest that a carcinomatous component transforms more easily than an ordinary endometrioid carcinoma from the viewpoint of the cell adhesion, and cells in a carcinomatous component continuously transform into sarcomatous cells during the growth of carcinosarcoma. ER -