Prognostic Significance of Intra-tumoral Budding in Serous Ovarian Carcinomas

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Intra-tumoral budding (ITB) has been well demonstrated to be an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes in colorectal carcinoma. This study investigated the prognostic significance of ITB in serous ovarian carcinomas (SOCs). The medical records and slides of 84 SOCs, including 13 with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), were retrospectively reviewed. The following clinicopathological parameters were noted: age at the diagnosis, CA125 level, 2014 FIGO stage, architectural grade, nuclear grade, presence of ITB, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), mitotic index and lymph node metastasis. ITB was found in 65 (77.4%) of the 84 SOCs. The presence of ITB was significantly correlated with a higher level of CA125, an advanced 2014 FIGO stage, a worse architectural grade, and the presence of LVSI. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 20 months in women with SOC with ITB and 38 months in women with SOC without ITB (P<0.01), and their median overall survival (OS) was 52 months and 72 months (P=0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that ITB was not an independent prognostic factor. ITB is a cost-effective prognostic indicator for women with SOC and ITB in ovarian tumor tissue is considered a useful histological biomarker of the progression of SOCs.</jats:p>