1. Clinical significance of serum Dkk-3 in patients with gynecological cancer.
- Author
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Tao Jiang, Ling Huang, Shizhuo Wang, and Shulan Zhang
- Subjects
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PROTEIN metabolism , *DIAGNOSIS of female reproductive organ tumors , *ACADEMIC medical centers , *ANALYSIS of variance , *ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY , *ENZYME-linked immunosorbent assay , *METABOLISM , *OVARIAN tumors , *RESEARCH funding , *T-test (Statistics) , *TUMOR markers , *CASE-control method , *RECEIVER operating characteristic curves - Abstract
Aim: The expression of Dkk-3, as a number of the Dkk family was different in different cancer. Because Dkk-3 encodes a secreted protein, we investigated whether the Dkk-3 protein is secreted into the sera of patients with gynecological cancer. Material & Methods: The levels of Dkk-3 protein were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the sera of 104 patients with gynecological cancer: 36 with ovarian, 40 with cervical and 28 with endometrial cancers. Results: The serum levels of Dkk-3 protein in patients with ovarian cancer [25.54 (7.99) pg/mL] was lower than in normal individuals [42.08 (14.89) pg/mL] ( P = 0.000). But serum levels of Dkk-3 protein in patients with cervical [166.39 (300.68) pg/mL] ( P = 0.013) and endometrial cancers [73.64 (23.36) pg/mL] ( P = 0.000) were higher than in normal individuals. The serum levels of Dkk-3 protein were associated with clinical stage in patients with cervical and endometrial cancers. In patients with ovarian cancer, the serum levels of Dkk-3 protein were associated with lymphatic metastasis. In patients with cervical cancer, the serum levels of Dkk-3 protein were associated with tumor diameters. Conclusion: Dkk-3 protein detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as molecular markers can contribute to detection and diagnosis of gynecological cancer, especially for ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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