The incidence of ovarian cancer has been epidemiologically related to female reproductive events and hormone replacement therapy after menopause. This highlights the importance of evaluating the role of sexual steroid hormones in ovarian cancer by the expression of enzymes related to steroid hormone biosynthesis in the tumor cells. This study was aimed to evaluate the presence of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (17β-HSD1), aromatase and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in the tumor cells and their association with the overall survival in 111 patients diagnosed with primary ovarian tumors. Positive immunoreactivity for 17β-HSD1 was observed in 74% of the tumors. In the same samples, aromatase and ERα revealed 66% and 47% positivity, respectively. No association was observed of 17β-HSD1 expression with the histological subtypes and clinical stages of the tumor. The overall survival of patients was improved in 17β-HSD1-positive group in Kaplan–Meier analysis (P = 0.028), and 17β-HSD1 expression had a protective effect from multivariate proportional regression evaluation (HR = 0.44; 95% CI 0.24–0.9; P = 0.040). The improved survival was observed in serous epithelial tumors but not in nonserous ovarian tumors. The expression of 17β-HSD1 in the cells of the serous epithelial ovarian tumors was associated with an improved overall survival, whereas aromatase and ERα were not related to a better survival. The evaluation of hazard risk factors demonstrated that age and clinical stage showed worse prognosis, and 17β-HSD1 expression displayed a protective effect with a better survival outcome in patients of epithelial ovarian tumors.

卵巢癌的发病率在流行病学上与女性生殖事件和绝经后激素替代治疗有关。这凸显了通过肿瘤细胞中与类固醇激素生物合成相关的酶的表达来评估性类固醇激素在卵巢癌中的作用的重要性。本研究旨在评估 111 名原发性卵巢肿瘤患者肿瘤细胞中 17β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶 (17β-HSD1)、芳香酶和雌激素受体 α (ERα) 的存在情况及其与总生存期的关系。在 74% 的肿瘤中观察到 17β-HSD1 呈阳性免疫反应。在同一样本中，芳香酶和 ERα 的阳性率分别为 66% 和 47%。未观察到 17β-HSD1 表达与肿瘤的组织学亚型和临床分期相关。Kaplan-Meier分析显示17β-HSD1阳性组患者的总生存率有所改善（P  = 0.028），并且从多变量比例回归评估中17β-HSD1表达具有保护作用（HR = 0.44；95% CI 0.24–0.9） ；P  = 0.040）。在浆液性上皮肿瘤中观察到生存率提高，但在非浆液性卵巢肿瘤中没有观察到。浆液性上皮性卵巢肿瘤细胞中 17β-HSD1 的表达与总生存期的改善相关，而芳香酶和 ERα 与更好的生存期无关。危险因素评估显示，年龄和临床分期对上皮性卵巢肿瘤患者预后较差，17β-HSD1表达具有保护作用，生存结果较好。