ABSTRACT
【Objective】 To explore the role of visfatin-nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase （Nampt） axis in the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer （EOC） and its effect on the patients’ prognosis. 【Methods】 Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the expression of Nampt protein in tissues from epithelial ovarian cancer and normal ovary； ELISA was used to determine the level of visfatin in serum. Then the two were further analyzed to estimate their effects on clinicopathological characteristics and the EOC patients’ overall survival. 【Results】 The mean level of serum visfatin in these EOC patients was significantly elevated compared with that of the patients with benign ovarian tumors and normal population. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under curve （AUC） of serum visfatin for diagnosis of EOC was 0.744， with a cut-off value of 5.95 ng/mL. Serum visfatin of the EOC patients was related to T， N and FIGO stage （P<0.05）， and was positively correlated with CA125 （rs=0.389， P=0.001）. The rate of Nampt positive expression in tissues from EOC was significantly increased and correlated with FIGO stage and serum visfatin （P<0.05）. Nampt protein expression in EOC was positively correlated with serum visfatin level （rs=0.55， P<0.001）. The 1-year， 3-year and 5-year survival rate of these patients with EOC was 98.6%， 74.3% and 34.3%， respectively. Survival analysis demonstrated that the overall survival of these patients was related to T， N， FIGO stage， serum visfatin and Nampt expression in EOC， and both FIGO stage and Nampt expression were independent prognostic factors （P<0.05）. 【Conclusion】 The overall survival of these EOC patients was related to T， N， FIGO stage， serum visfatin and Nampt expression， and FIGO stage and Nampt expression are independent factors predicting the outcome. This highlights that visfatin-Nampt axis promotes the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer and affects the prognosis of EOC patients.