Review Reports - Mutation Profiles of Ovarian Seromucinous Borderline Tumors in Japanese Patients

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper is potentially interesting and seems to be convincing, however, I have several concerns with this paper as shown below.

The authors should be determined mutations of TP53 and
The authors argued that ERBB2 may play an important role in the tumorigenesis of Japanese SMBTs. ERBB2 gene amplification or overexpression should be analyzed.
The difference between Asian patients and non-Asian patients is of interest of readers. Are there ethnic differences? The authors are encouraged to add more discussion in details on this point.
Grammatical and typographical errors in the text need to be corrected by a native English speaker.

Author Response

Point-wise responses to the comments made by Reviewer 1:

Q1) The authors should be determined mutations of TP53

Response: Thanks for your suggestion. However, it is time-consuming to identify TP53 mutation because PCR, sequencing, reading data, and accumulation will be needed. We have revised the limitation section to reflect this. (page 13, lines 342-345)

Q2) The authors argued that ERBB2 may play an important role in the tumorigenesis of Japanese SMBTs. ERBB2 gene amplification or overexpression should be analyzed.

Response: Thanks for your valuable suggestion. We have performed IHC to check the overexpression of ERBB2, as suggested. We have added this information to the Materials & Methods and Results section. (page 6, line 138, page 9, lines 236-238 and Table 1b)

Q3) The difference between Asian patients and non-Asian2 patients is of interest of readers. Are there ethnic differences? The authors are encouraged to add more discussion in details on this point.

Response: Thanks for your insightful comments. We have included more information regarding ethnic differences, as you suggested. (page 11, lines 280-292)

Q4) Grammatical and typographical errors in the text need to be corrected by a native English speaker.

Response: We apologize for the grammatical and typographical errors. We have used the service of a native English speaker to revise our manuscript as you suggested.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors, the manuscript is very clear and well written. The topic covered is very relevant for japanese population and could be a base for further study and correlation between different ethnicities.The article is suitable for publication with minor revision. Table 1 has a very low resolution and therefore it is very difficult to read the results.

Author Response

Point-wise responses to the comments made by Reviewer 2:

Q1) Dear Authors, the manuscript is very clear and well written. The topic covered is very relevant for japanese population and could be a base for further study and correlation between different ethnicities. The article is suitable for publication with minor revision. Table 1 has a very low resolution and therefore it is very difficult to read the results.

Response: Thanks for your commendation of our manuscript. Table 1 was very big, so it was difficult to adjust to one table. Therefore, we divided Table 1 to Table 1a and Table 1b for better resolution and understanding. (Tables 1a and 1b).

Reviewer 3 Report

Reviewer Blind Comments to Author:

The manuscript entitled “Mutation profiles of ovarian seromucinous borderline tumors 2 in Japanese patients” analyzed the molecular features of a particular kind of ovarian cancer such as the seromucinous type. The authors revealed that the most prevalent mutation is the alteration of P53.

The topic of this Manuscript is interesting and falls within the scope of the Journal of Current Oncology. However the study needs several revisions as detailed in the “Reviewer Blind Comments to Author”.

Material and Methods: Please specify the country of the study.

Discussion: Authors should discuss what is the impact of their findings on the surgical approach and, if possible, about the survival rate.

Discussion: The diagnosis of ovarian cancer, particularly of rare types, represents a particular moment for the young patient as depression and anxiety could seriously impact on her state of wellbeing. Authors should underline the role of quality of life in these patients affected, particularly regarding the psychological aspect, briefly referring to PMID: 32419847.

Author Response

Point-wise responses to the comments made by Reviewer 3:

Reviewer Blind Comments to Author:

Q1) Material and Methods: Please specify the country of the study.

Response: Thanks for your valuable suggestion. We have included the country’s name in the Materials & Methods section. (Page 3, line 72)

Q2) Discussion: Authors should discuss what is the impact of their findings on the surgical approach and, if possible, about the survival rate.

Response: Thanks for your insightful suggestion. We have included the surgical approach and survival rate in the Materials & Methods section. (page 8, lines 187-193)

Q3) Discussion: The diagnosis of ovarian cancer, particularly of rare types, represents a particular moment for the young patient as depression and anxiety could seriously impact on her state of wellbeing. Authors should underline the role of quality of life in these patients affected, particularly regarding the psychological aspect, briefly referring to PMID: 32419847.

Response: Thanks for your insightful suggestion. We have included a brief description of the role of quality of life in the discussion section, as you suggested. (page 10, lines 263-272)

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors should be determined mutations of TP53 and ARID1A, however, the reviewer thinks this paper is improved.

Reviewer 3 Report

Authors improved the manuscript as requested.