The role of ITGA3 expression in predicting liver metastasis in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

Abstract

Objective: Integrin alpha-3 (ITGA3) has been implicated in tumor metastasis in various cancers, but its role in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC)-associated liver metastasis (LM) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate its role in LM in primary EOC patients. Methods: It was a retrospective study with a sample size of n = 235 receiving surgical resection at Puren Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology between January 2020 and December 2021, including 98 LM (LM group) and 137 non-LM cases (N-LM group). ITGA3 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. ROC curves were used for predictive performance analysis, Kaplan-Meier curves for survival analysis, and Cox regression analysis for identification of risk factors. Results: Markedly elevated ITGA3 expression in tumor tissues was found in the LM group (P < 0.001), which demonstrated strong predictive value for LM in EOC patients (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.881, sensitivity = 70.41%, specificity = 87.59%, P < 0.001), and strongly correlated with tumor size and postoperative residual lesions (both P < 0.05). Compared with the L-ITGA3 group, the H-ITGA3 group had a higher incidence of postoperative LM (P < 0.001) and showed a left-shifted curve in Kaplan-Meier analysis (P < 0.001). ITGA3 expression in tumor tissues (HR = 5.977), tumor grade (HR = 1.441), and postoperative residual lesions (HR = 1.697) were identified as independent risk factors for postoperative LM. Conclusions: ITGA3 expression in tumor tissue significantly aids in predicting LM in EOC patients and is independently and closely related to adverse clinicopathological outcomes.