Objective  To investigate the expression of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 and the formation of tumor micro-vessel density in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and to analyze the relationship among factors and clinicopathologic features of epithelial ovarian cancer.

  Methods  Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 proteins and to observe microvessel density (MVD) formation in 35 cases with epithelial ovarian cancer, 31 cases with borderline tumor, 30 cases with benign tumor, and 20 cases with normal ovarian tissues.

  Results  The expression of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 was significantly higher in epithelial ovarian cancer tissues than in cases with borderline tumor, benign ovarian tumor, and normal ovarian tissues (P < 0.05). Among the patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, the expression of IGF-I was significantly different in various histological grades or ascites (P < 0.05). The expression of TGF- & beta; 1 was related to ascites (P < 0.05), whereas MVD was related to clinical stage, histological grade, and ascites (P < 0.05). The expression level of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 in different tissues was positively correlated (r = 0.68, P < 0.05), similar to the correlation with MVD (r = 0.45, P = 0.01; r =0.39, P = 0.02). The disease-free and overall survival rates in the positive groups of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 exhibited a decrease, whereas no significant differences were observed in both groups (P > 0.05).

  Conclusion  In epithelial ovarian carcinomas, the expression of IGF-I and TGF- & beta; 1 is positively correlated with MVD. IGF-I, TGF- & beta; 1, and MVD formation in epithelial ovarian cancer patients play an important role in pathogenesis.