Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate genetic changes detected in ovarian and cervical cancer cells, in correlation with other available clinical and histopathological parameters, with impact upon cancer prognosis. Design: Original article. Setting: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General Teaching Hospital, Prague. Methods: Sixty patients with ovarian cancer and twenty patients with cervical cancer were included in the study. A histopathologist examined the tumor samples in order to define the histological type and grade. MIB-1 and p53 were estimated using an immunohistochemical method. For genetic testing, both conventional and molecular methods were applied (direct culture and a G-banding technique, the FISH method with whole chromosome painting probes, and the CGH method). The results were submitted to statistical evaluation, using analysis of variances and χ2 test. Results. Numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations were detected in more than 63% of the examined ovarian cancer cases and 29% of examined cervical cancer cases. Ovarian cancer patients with extensive chromosomal rearrangements were significantly younger. The most typical findings in ovarian cancer cells were amplifications 1q, 3q, 20q; and deletions 4p, 4q, 18p, 18q, 19q. The most typical findings in cervical tumor cells were amplifications 3q, 5p; and deletions 13q and isochromosome 5p. Some of the less frequent findings in our study were deletion 22q in 36% of all ovarian cancer samples, as well as amplifications of chromosome 2 and deletions of chromosome 10, 11p, 21q in cervical cancer cells. The activity of proliferative marker MIB-1 was significantly higher in women with a high p53 HSCORE (p < 0.01). Conclusions. Chromosomal rearrangements, different for ovarian and cervical cancer, have been found, including several rare findings. The significant importance of genetic alterations and the activity of proliferative markers, including common correlations with an unfavorable outcome in ovarian tumors of younger women were found.

        Key words: ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, chromosomal rearrangements, prognostic factors