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

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
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 (>750 μg/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 (>1000 μg/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.