The pathological diagnosis

of epithelial ovarian cancer

in the Netherlands
Name of Institute: Amsterdam UMC – Location AMC

Department: Pathology

location if not Amsterdam UMC: N/A

names of available daily supervisor(s) and senior tutor(s):

Daily supervisors: drs. Hein Zelisse, PhD student pathology

AMC

dr. Frederike Dijk, senior

research fellow pathology AMC

Senior tutors: Prof. dr. Marc van de Vijver, pathologist &

head of department AMC & VUmc

Short introduction about the department and the general research

line (in English; please include references)

The pathology department of Amsterdam UMC focusses on

fundamental and translational research. The research within the
department takes place in various research lines. The research line
as led by prof. dr. Marc van de Vijver is called ‘genetic alterations
and gene expression profiles of solid tumors’. The research within
this line focusses at using genetic techniques to refine
classification of especially breast-, ovarian- and pancreatic cancer.
Furthermore, heterogeneity of genetic alterations and gene
expression profiles and their association with therapy response and
prognosis are studied. Recently, prof. dr. Marc van de Vijver
received a KWF-grant to set up a national research platform
including a biobank for ovarian cancer in the Netherlands, which is
currently being implemented.
Name, email and phone of department contact person (preferably
the direct supervisor)

Hein Zelisse, PhD student pathology AMC

h.s.zelisse@amsterdamumc.nl

06-21430795

Title of the specific student research project (in English)

The pathological diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer in the

Netherlands

Description of a specific student project; please include references

and links (in English)

In patients with an ovarian tumor, histopathology is the gold

standard to determine the nature (benign, borderline or malignant)
and the histotype of the tumor.1 Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC)
accounts for 95% of all ovarian malignancies, of which high grade
serous carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma,
mucinous carcinoma and low grade serous carcinoma are the most
common histotypes.2,3 It has been shown that the use of
immunohistochemistry improves the diagnosis and histotyping of
EOC, compared to histologic examination alone.4,5 However, the
WHO Classification of Tumours of Female Reproductive Organs
2014 does not provide a standard immunohistochemical workup for
this.3 As a result, there is a large variety in diagnostics used for
diagnosing and histotyping EOC between hospitals in the
Netherlands, as shown by the unpublished results of a survery we
conducted. Therefore, the aim of this study is to give an overview of
the way epithelial ovarian cancer is pathologically diagnosed in the
Netherlands. We will focus on immunohistochemical stainings and
molecular diagnostics performed on biopsies, punctures and
resection tissue. The differences in diagnostics between academic
and non-academic hospitals will be examined, as well as between
initial diagnosis and revision and between the primary tumor and
the recurrence.

1) Jayson GC, Kohn EC, Kitchener HC, Ledermann JA. Ovarian

cancer. Lancet. 2014;384(9951):1376-88.

2) Quirk JT, Natarajan N. Ovarian cancer incidence in the United

States, 1992-1999. Gynecol Oncol. 2005;97(2):519-23.
3) Kurman RJ, Carcangiu ML, Herrington CS, Young RH. WHO
Classification of Tumours of Female Reproductive Organs. 4th ed.
Lyon: IARC; 2014

4) Köbel M, Bak J, Bertelsen BI, Carpen O, Grove A, et al. Ovarian

carcinoma histotype determination is highly reproducible, and is
improved through the use of immunohistochemistry. Histopathology.
2014;64(7):1004-13.

5) Peres LC, Cushing-Haugen KL, Anglesio M, Wicklund K, Bentley R,

et al. Histotype classification of ovarian carcinoma: A comparison
of approaches. Gynecol Oncol. 2018;151(1):53-60

For a specific student project, state the research question

Main research question

How is epithelial ovarian cancer pathologically diagnosed in the

Netherlands?

Subquestions

 Which immunohistochemical stainings are performed on

biopsies, punctures and resection tissue?
 Which molecular diagnostics are performed on biopsies,
punctures and resection tissue?
 Is there a difference in immunohistochemical stainings and
molecular diagnostics between academic and non-academic
hospitals?
 Is there a difference in immunohistochemical stainings,
molecular diagnostics and outcome between the initial diagnosis
and the revision?
 Is there a difference in immunohistochemical stainings and
molecular diagnostics between the primary tumor and the
recurrence?

For a specific student project: Type of research;

Retrospective study (pathology reports)

For a specific student project: Duration 16 or 24 weeks

16
weeks.
If interested, it is possible to get involved in other research projects
as well.

Type of internship

Retrospective study (pathology reports)

Discipline

Pathology (gynaecological pathology)