The secretory small guanosine-5'-triphosphate-binding enzyme, Rab27B, has been identified to be an oncogene that is involved in the progression of certain tumors. The current study was designed to evaluate the expression pattern of Rab27B in ovarian cancer (OC), borderline tumors and benign ovarian adenoid tumors, as well as its association with survival prognosis and clinical parameters. The expression of Rab27B protein was examined by immunohistochemistry in 204 patients who had undergone ovarian resection without preoperative systemic chemotherapy at the Surgical Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University (Nantong, China), including 57 benign ovarian adenoid tumors, 44 borderline tumors and 103 malignant tumors. Rab27B expression and clinicopathological features were analyzed with the χ2 test. Patient survival rate was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis of the prognostic factors was performed using the Cox regression model. Increased expression of Rab27B was positively correlated with histological type (P=0.012), level of differentiation (P=0.015), lymph node metastasis (P=0.024), distant metastasis (P<0.001) and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (P=0.001). Survival analysis revealed an association between Rab27B-positivity and poor overall survival rate. Multivariate analysis indicated that Rab27B (P<0.031) and distant metastases (P=0.031) were independent prognostic factors for OC patients' survival. The results of the present study supported the hypothesis that Rab27B may be a valuable prognostic indicator in patients with OC.
Keywords: Rab27B; immunohistochemistry; metastasis; ovarian cancer; prognosis.