Overexpression of TRIM44 is an independent marker for predicting poor prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer

Tripartite motif-containing 44 (TRIM44) has been demonstrated to be important in tumor metastasis and progression. However, the expression pattern and prognostic value of the expression of TRIM44 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, the aim was to investigate the expression and clinical role of TRIM44 in EOC. A total of 109 patients, who underwent primary surgery with the goal of maximal tumor resection followed by standard combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel, were analyzed in the present study. The expression level of TRIM44 was determined by western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry in 109 ECO tissues. It was found that the expression of TRIM44 was low in normal tissues and high in EOC tissues. Univariate survival analysis showed that the overexpression of TRIM44 was significantly associated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested that there was a significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival rates between patients with a high expression of TRIM44 and patients with a low expression of TRIM44. Patients with a high expression level of TRIM44 exhibited poorer overall survival and disease-free survival rates, compared with patients expressing a low level of TRIM44 (P<0.001). In addition, the results of the multivariate analysis revealed that the predictive value of the expression of TRIM44 was independent of other clinicopathological factors for predicting prognosis. These findings demonstrated that a high expression of TRIM44 was associated with the progression and prognosis of EOC.