Assessment of endoglin and calprotectin as potential biomarkers in ovarian carcinoma and borderline tumors of the ovary.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyze circulating endoglin concentration in ovarian carcinoma and evaluate a prognostic role for calprotectin and endoglin in effusions in advanced-stage disease. Preoperative plasma concentration of endoglin from women with benign ovarian tumors (n = 71), borderline ovarian tumors (BOT, n = 39), and ovarian carcinomas (n = 89) was analyzed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, as were endoglin and calprotectin concentrations in effusions from 164 women with advanced-stage ovarian carcinoma. Median endoglin plasma concentration was higher in the BOT group as compared with both control and invasive carcinoma groups (4.9 vs 4.5 and 4.3 ng/mL, P = .04 and P = .02), whereas the difference between the control and invasive group was not statistically significant (4.5 vs 4.3 ng/mL, P = .08). Endoglin and calprotectin effusion concentrations did not correlate with survival. Circulating endoglin is not elevated in advanced ovarian carcinoma. This is in contrast to the situation in breast and gastric cancer.