Chien C H, Huang C C, Lin Y H, Shen J, Chow S N
College of Life Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Gynecol Oncol. 1997 Sep;66(3):405-10. doi: 10.1006/gyno.1997.4794.
Transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) is a potent mitogenic polypeptide. It is secreted by a variety of transformed cells and tumors, modifying tumor growth through autocrine or paracrine mechanism. In the present study, serum levels of TGF-alpha were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 27 normal females, 116 patients with benign ovarian tumors, and 42 patients with epithelial ovarian cancers (10 with stage I, 7 with stage II, 19 with stage III, and 6 with stage IV). The ELISA assay could detect a minimum level of serum TGF-alpha concentration at 10 pg/ml. Serum samples were obtained from normal females and from patients with benign or malignant ovarian tumors before initial surgery. The detectable rates were 11% (3/27) in normal females, 28% (32/116) in benign ovarian tumors, and 62% (26/42) in ovarian cancers. The detectable rates in serous and endometrioid ovarian cancers were 71 and 70%, respectively, which were higher than the rate of 33% in mucinous type. However, there was no obvious relationship between the detectability of serum TGF-alpha and the stages of ovarian cancers. The mean concentration of TGF-alpha in ovarian cancer was 159.8 pg/ml, which was significantly higher than 27.7 pg/ml in benign ovarian tumors (P < 0.001) as well as 15 pg/ml in normal females (P < 0.001). The mean concentrations of serum TGF-alpha in stages I to IV ovarian cancers were 133.5, 96.2, 194.8, and 178.3 pg/ml, respectively. The mean concentration of serum TGF-alpha in any two stages of ovarian cancers was not statistically different. In conclusion, measurement of serum TGF-alpha can be used as a supplementary tumor marker to differentiate a malignant ovarian tumor from a benign one. However, the concentration of serum TGF-alpha has no special relation with the stage of ovarian cancer itself. Because of the small number of stage I ovarian cancers with detectable TGF-alpha in the present investigation, it would probably not be feasible to differentiate a stage I ovarian cancer from a benign ovarian tumor based only on the level of TGF-alpha in serum.
转化生长因子-α（TGF-α）是一种强效的促有丝分裂多肽。它由多种转化细胞和肿瘤分泌，通过自分泌或旁分泌机制调节肿瘤生长。在本研究中，采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测定了27名正常女性、116例良性卵巢肿瘤患者和42例上皮性卵巢癌患者（10例I期、7例II期、19例III期和6例IV期）的血清TGF-α水平。ELISA测定法可检测到的血清TGF-α浓度最低水平为10 pg/ml。血清样本取自正常女性以及良性或恶性卵巢肿瘤患者初次手术前。正常女性的可检测率为11%（3/27），良性卵巢肿瘤患者为28%（32/116），卵巢癌患者为62%（26/42）。浆液性和子宫内膜样卵巢癌的可检测率分别为71%和70%，高于黏液性类型的33%。然而，血清TGF-α的可检测性与卵巢癌分期之间没有明显关系。卵巢癌中TGF-α的平均浓度为159.8 pg/ml，显著高于良性卵巢肿瘤中的27.7 pg/ml（P < 0.001）以及正常女性中的15 pg/ml（P < 0.001）。I至IV期卵巢癌中血清TGF-α的平均浓度分别为133.5、96.2、194.8和178.3 pg/ml。卵巢癌任意两个分期中血清TGF-α的平均浓度无统计学差异。总之，血清TGF-α的测定可作为一种辅助肿瘤标志物，用于区分恶性卵巢肿瘤和良性卵巢肿瘤。然而，血清TGF-α的浓度与卵巢癌本身的分期没有特殊关系。由于本研究中I期卵巢癌且TGF-α可检测的病例数较少，仅根据血清中TGF-α水平来区分I期卵巢癌和良性卵巢肿瘤可能不可行。
