Karyometry Identifies A Deviant Phenotype In The Fallopian Tube Epithelium Of Postpartum Subjects And Subject At High Risk Of Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

With the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers, ovarian cancer is a deadly reproductive malignancy among women. Previous studies have identified the fallopian tube epithelium to be the site of origin for high grade serous ovarian carcinoma. Survival is high when the cancer is discovered while it is still localized to the site of origin, but it is rarely detected that early due to the late manifestation of symptoms and ineffectiveness of current screening methods. Karyometry is a quantitative histopathology technique that detects chromatin abnormalities at the nuclear level using imaging analysis. This study investigates whether karyometry can detect nuclear abnormalities of fallopian tube epithelium in women carrying the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation versus the fallopian tube epithelium of women who are at normal risk of developing ovarian cancer. Fallopian tube tissue from 11 women who were at normal risk, 13 women who carried the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, and 13 postpartum women was analyzed using karyometry. There was a distinct deviation in mean nuclear signatures between the normal and high risk groups and between the normal and postpartum groups. In this preliminary analysis, karyometry detected nuclear abnormalities in the fallopian tube epithelium of high risk women.