EZH2/H3K27Me3 and phosphorylated EZH2 predict chemotherapy response and prognosis in ovarian cancer

Abstract

EZH2, H3K27Me3, pAkt1 and pS21EZH2 were universally expressed in ovarian cancer specimens with a positive expression rate of 81.54% (53/65), 88.89% (48/54), 63.07% (41/65) and 75.38% (49/65). EZH2-pS21EZH2 (Spearman <i>r</i> = 0.580, <i>P</i> < 0.0001) and pS21EZH2-pAkt1 (Spearman <i>r</i> = 0.546, <i>P</i> < 0.0001) were closely correlated while EZH2- H3K27Me3 were less closely correlated (Spearman <i>r</i> = 0.307, <i>P</i> = 0.002). Low pS21EZH2 associated with better chemotherapy response (OR = 0.184; 95% CI [0.052-0.647], <i>P</i> = 0.008) according to logistic regression with an area under the curve of 0.789 (specificity 89.36%, sensitivity 68.42%) by ROC analysis and predicted improved progression-free survival (HR = 0.453; 95% CI [0.229-0.895], <i>P</i> = 0.023) as indicated by multivariate cox regression. A combination of EZH2^low/H3K27Me3^low status predicted better chemotherapy response (OR = 0.110; 95% CI [0.013-0.906], <i>P</i> = 0.040) and better progression-free survival (HR = 0.388; 95% CI [0.164-0.917], <i>P</i> = 0.031). The results suggested that EZH2/H3K27Me3 and pEZH2 predicted chemotherapy response and progression-free survival in ovarian cancer.