Objective   This work aims to investigate the expression and significance of activating transcription factor 5(ATF5) in epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

  Methods   Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to determine ATF5 mRNA expression. The immunohistochemical staining method was employed to assay the expression of ATF5 protein in the specimens of 60 cases with epithelial ovarian carcinoma, 15 cases of benign ovarian tumor, and 9 cases of normal ovarian tissue.

  Results   ATF5 expression was significantly higher in epithelial ovarian carcinoma than in benign ovarian tumor and normal controls(P < 0.05).The over-expression of ATF5 was related to the differentiation and clinical stage.The positive rates of ATF5 were notably higher in stagesⅢ-Ⅳcarcinoma than in stagesⅠ-Ⅱ(P < 0.05).The positive rates of ATF5 were also higher in the poor differentiation group than in the good and moderate differentiation group.However, no significant differences were found between the groups with cancers of good and moderate differentiations(P > 0.05).

  Conclusion   ATF5 is over-expressed in epithelial ovarian carcinoma.The level of ATF5 expression is related to differentiation and clinical staging.The findings may serve as a foundation for further studies on the correlation between ATF5 and oncogenesis of ovarian cancer, and on the role of ATF5 in biological behaviors of ovarian carcinoma.