Serum immunosuppressive substance in patients with gynecologic malignancies and in pregnant women.

The presence of serum immunosuppressive substance (IS) was determined in 134 patients with malignant gynecologic tumors (105 cervical cancers, 15 endometrial cancers, and 14 ovarian cancers), 45 patients with benign gynecologic tumors (33 uterine myomas and 12 ovarian tumors), 10 patients with severe inflammatory diseases, 326 pregnant women, and 48 healthy controls. The mean levels and percentages of positive levels (greater than 750 micrograms/ml) in both the groups of cancer patients and the group of patients with severe inflammatory diseases were significantly higher than those in the groups of patients with benign tumors or the control group. In pregnant women, however, the majority of serum levels were within a normal range, showing relatively elevated levels in the first trimester. In the patients with malignancies (cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers), extremely elevated levels (greater than 1000 micrograms/ml) suggested an active or a progressive state of the malignancies. It became clear that serial IS determinations are valuable for monitoring the disease state or judging the effect of therapy.