Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2014 Nov;124(5):881-885.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000484.

Detection of somatic TP53 mutations in tampons of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Britt K Erickson  1 , Isaac Kinde, Zachary C Dobbin, Yuxuan Wang, Jovana Y Martin, Ronald D Alvarez, Michael G Conner, Warner K Huh, Richard B S Roden, Kenneth W Kinzler, Nickolas Papadopoulos, Bert Vogelstein, Luis A Diaz Jr, Charles N Landen Jr
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Detection of somatic TP53 mutations in tampons of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Britt K Erickson et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether tumor cells could be detected in the vagina of women with serous ovarian cancer through TP53 analysis of DNA samples collected by placement of a vaginal tampon.

Methods: Women undergoing surgery for a pelvic mass were identified in the gynecologic oncology clinic. They placed a vaginal tampon before surgery, which was removed in the operating room. Cells were isolated and DNA was extracted from both the cells trapped within the tampon and the primary tumor. In patients with serous carcinoma, the DNA was interrogated for the presence of TP53 mutations using a method capable of detecting rare mutant alleles in a mixture of mutant and wild-type DNA.

Results: Thirty-three patients were enrolled. Eight patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer were included for analysis. Three had a prior tubal ligation. TP53 mutations were identified in all eight tumor samples. Analysis of the DNA from the tampons revealed mutations in three of the five patients with intact tubes (sensitivity 60%) and in none of the three patients with tubal ligation. In all three participants with mutation detected in the tampon specimen, the tumor and the vaginal DNA harbored the exact same TP53 mutation. The fraction of DNA derived from exfoliated tumor cells ranged from 0.01% to 0.07%.

Conclusion: In this pilot study, DNA derived from tumor was detected in the vaginas of 60% of patients with ovarian cancer with intact fallopian tubes. With further development, this approach may hold promise for the early detection of this deadly disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosure: The terms of these arrangements are being managed by the university in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahmed AA, Etemadmoghadam D, Temple J, Lynch AG, Riad M, Sharma R, et al. Driver mutations in TP53 are ubiquitous in high grade serous carcinoma of the ovary. J Pathol. 2010 May;221(1):49–56. PubMed PMID: 20229506. Pubmed Central PMCID: 3262968. Epub 2010/03/17. eng. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cancer Genome Atlas Research N. Integrated genomic analyses of ovarian carcinoma. Nature. 2011 Jun 30;474(7353):609–615. PubMed PMID: 21720365. Pubmed Central PMCID: 3163504. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kinde I, Bettegowda C, Wang Y, Wu J, Agrawal N, Shih Ie M, et al. Evaluation of DNA from the papanicolaou test to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Jan 9;5(167):167ra4. PubMed PMID: 23303603. Epub 2013/01/11. eng. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kindelberger DW, Lee Y, Miron A, Hirsch MS, Feltmate C, Medeiros F, et al. Intraepithelial carcinoma of the fimbria and pelvic serous carcinoma: Evidence for a causal relationship. Am J Surg Pathol. 2007 Feb;31(2):161–169. PubMed PMID: 17255760. Epub 2007/01/27. eng. - PubMed
    1. Piek JM, van Diest PJ, Zweemer RP, Jansen JW, Poort-Keesom RJ, Menko FH, et al. Dysplastic changes in prophylactically removed Fallopian tubes of women predisposed to developing ovarian cancer. J Pathol. 2001 Nov;195(4):451–456. PubMed PMID: 11745677. Epub 2001/12/18. eng. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms