Collagen type III in ovarian tumors. Histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings.
The occurrence and location of interstitial collagen amino-terminal propeptide type III procollagen (PIIIP) and fibronectin was studied in 123 ovarian tumors of different types and related to the histological type and clinical behavior of the neoplasm. The purpose was to further our understanding of the development and classification of these tumors and to determine characteristics of diagnostic and prognostic significance. PIIIP-positive fibers were common in the stroma of all types of neoplasms, condensation of fibres occurred at the epithelial-stromal interface of surface epithelial tumors, and disintegration and discontinuation of fibers around invasive epithelial islets and in stroma of undifferentiated epithelial carcinomas. The PIIIP-positive stromal meshwork surrounded individual cells in thecomas, while it was virtually absent in diffuse granulosa cell tumors and distinctly developed in malignant stromal neoplasms, being seen mainly around epithelial islets in mixed mesodermal tumors.