The evaluation of SATB2 expression in primary epithelial and metastatic tumors of the ovary

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer in women and the seventh most common cause of cancer death in worldwide. Differential diagnosis between primary and metastatic neoplasm can be problematic in some cases. The special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) is a nuclear matrix-associated protein that is important for growth and development. SATB2 was discoveried in 2003, and till now there has been a rapid increase in studies investigating the roles of this protein. SATB2 was shown to be a sensitive and highly specific marker for colorectal carcinomas (CRCs). Based on this, it recommended a useful immunohistochemical marker for metastatic ovarian tumor of colorectal origin. SATB2 expression also reported in lung, breast, pancreas, renal, laryngeal, esophageal carcinomas and bone cancers. In this study we aimed to evaluate SATB2 expression in primary epithelial and metastatic ovarian tumors, and determine its significance between subtypes. The samples included in this study were obtained from the archives of Pathology Department, at Gaziantep University from 2004 to 2017. The study group consisted of 148 cases of primary epithelial tumor and 29 cases of metastatic ovary tumor. Immunohistochemical antibody of SATB2 was studied using an automated immunohistochemistry-staining device (Ventana Ultra Auto-Stainer). The nuclear staining for SATB2 were accepted as positive if more than 1% of tumor cells are positive. Normal colon tissue was used as a positive control. 54.5% of mucinous carcinomas, 51.7% of endometrioid carcinomas, 18.2% of high grade serous carcinomas, 17.9 of borderline mucinous tumors, 6.7% of borderline serous tumors and 51.7% of metastatic ovarian tumors showed SATB2 immunopositivity.SATB2 expression showed no spesifity for all the subgroups. Metastatic ovarian tumors consisted of colon, breast, upper gastrointestinal system and appendiks also showed SATB2 expression in different rates. All of the colorectal carcinomas showed SATB2 positivity compatible with the literature. The small number of cases with positive SATB2 expression in metastatic group did not allow for any firm conclusions on its origin for the statistical analyses. To best of our knowledge, our study is the first study that shows SATB2 expression in primary ovarian tumors in addition to metastatic ovarian carcinomas. We determined SATB2 in all groups of primary and metastatic ovarian tumors. Further studies including larger scales are warranted to show SATB2 spesifity for the subtypes. Keywords: metastatic, ovary tumor, primary, SATB2