For a long time, progesterone has been considered to be a protective factor for ovarian cancer. Approximately 26% to 49% of ovarian cancers have PR expression [35], and patients with a high expression of PR often have a good prognosis [36]. In contrast, estrogen has been considered as a risk factor for epithelial ovarian cancer. The proliferation of ovarian tissue with estrogenic stimulation and estrogen/hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may possibly increase the risk of ovarian cancer [37, 38]. Approximately 61% to 79% of ovarian cancers express the ER [35]. From the pathological standpoint, estrogen and ER expression

can accelerate the mitosis of ovarian cancer cells, which find more selleck rely on inhibiting apoptosis and promoting cell proliferation to participate in the see more development of tumors. Hence, ER-positive ovarian cancer patients often suffer from a poor prognosis. The data in our research illustrated that

ER-positive patients tend to carry the AA and GA genotypes in p73 rs6695978 compared with the GG genotypes. In contrast with ER-negative, the A allele frequency in rs6695978 were also statistically increased in ER-positive patients. There appears to be a potential connection between rs6695978 A allele and bad clinical outcomes. In conclusion, this is the first study to indicate the p73 rs6695978 G > A A allele as the at-risk allele may enhance susceptibility to ovarian cancer in Chinese women. The individuals

with the A allele were at increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to carriers of the G allele, and positively associated with the occurrence of mucinous ovarian cancer, poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and estrogen receptor status, which all indicate a poor prognosis for ovarian cancer. However, detailed ovarian tumor histology data were not available, and the biological and mechanistic relevances between rs6695978 A allele and ovarian cancer remain Celastrol unclear. Meanwhile, the process of ovarian cancer development in women is probably mediated by other candidate genotypes and different pathways; this analysis leads to future work in the following directions (a) with large samples and detailed surveys focusing on the functional pattern of this polymorphism (b) examination of p73 expression levels by genotype among the current population. (c) analysis of genotypic interactions with closely-related genes. Further research of this critical gene and those which are biologically related may lead to a better informed biological understanding of ovarian cancers. Substantiating its independent prognostic value for clinical diagnosis and outcome is of great significance. In addition, findings such as these will lead to the development of genetic risk prediction panels for eventual classification of women who may most benefit from targeted surveillance or prevention strategies.