Detection of c-erbB-2 and FGF-3 (INT-2) gene amplification in epithelial ovarian cancer.

We examined gene amplifications of the c-erbB-2 and FGF-3 gene in 48 epithelial ovarian cancers by differential PCR and addressed their association with clinico-pathological features including clinical outcome. Overall, 25.0 and 20.8% of ovarian cancers displayed amplified c-erbB-2 or FGF-3 gene, respectively. Amplification of the c-erbB-2 gene was significantly associated with particular histological cell types, higher histological grade, and low levels of serous CA125. However, there was no correlation between c-erbB-2 gene amplification and patient outcome. No correlation was observed between FGF-3 gene amplification and any clinico-pathological features including overall survival. These findings suggested that c-erbB-2 or FGF-3 gene amplification might be one of the oncogenic events implicated in the development of ovarian cancers, yet is not a useful prognostic marker.