Cysteine-rich 61 (CYR61) has been proven to be an oncogene with potential predictive and prognostic implications in a variety of human
cancers. However, the expression pattern of CYR61 and its role in ovarian
carcinoma remains largely unknown. In this study, the
mRNA and
protein levels of CYR61 in normal ovaries and ovarian
carcinoma tissues were evaluated using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. Compared to normal ovarian tissues, the
mRNA and
protein levels of CYR61 were significantly higher in ovarian
carcinoma tissues. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, Spearman's rank correlation, Kaplan-Meier plots, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to investigate the potential association of the
CYR61 protein with the development of ovarian
carcinoma in an ovarian
carcinoma cohort. Based on ROC curve analysis, high expression of CYR61 was defined as a
tumor in which more than 70 % of cells were positively stained. Based on this cutoff value, high expression of CYR61 was detected in 51.5 % of invasive
carcinomas, 35.3 % of borderline
tumors, 25.9 % of
cystadenomas, and 20 % in the normal ovaries. In ovarian
carcinomas, CYR61 overexpression was associated with advanced FIGO stage. Univariate survival analysis on the ovarian
carcinoma cohorts showed that overexpression of CYR61 was associated with poor survival of
ovarian cancer patients. Multivariate analysis suggested that the
protein level of CYR61 was an independent and significant prognostic factor for ovarian
carcinoma. Our results suggest that the
CYR61 protein is an important and independent
biomarker for prognostic implications of ovarian
carcinoma.