RESUMO
Malignant epithelial ovarian tumors are the fifth most common cancer of females which has the highest mortality rate among gynecological malignancies. Tumor-specific or related antigens that induce an immune response have been defined in tumors. Intratumoral T lymphocytes recognize these antigens and induce a cytolytic activity. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor expressed in many tumors. In this study, we studied the relation between clinicopathological findings and intratumoral T lymphocyte and VEGF expressions in malignant epithelial ovarian tumors. The presence of VEGF in ovarian surface epithelial carcinomas and CD3, CD4 and CD8 antibodies in tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes were investigated in 63 cases with an immunohistochemical method. Positive-stained intratumoral lymphocytes were graded on a scale of 0 to 3 (0 --> 0, +1 --> < or = 5, +2 --> 6-19, +3 --> > or = 20). VEGF was assessed according to the staining intensity (0: negative, +1: weak, +2: moderate, +3: strong). CD3 positivity was observed in intratumoral lymphocytes in all cases while only CD4 and CD8 positivities were observed in 30% and 80%, respectively. VEGF was positive in 73% of the cases. No significant relation was observed between VEGF expression and presence of intratumoral T lymphocyte and clinicopathological parameters. Moreover, they did not have any significant effect on disease-free survival and overall survival.
