Affiliations: Oncology Diagnostic Unit (ODU), Department of
Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Faculty of
Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Samar Kassim, MD, Ph.D., Oncology Diagnostic
Unit, Ain Shams Faculty of Medicine, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt 11566, Tel.: +20 2
285 8940, Fax: +20 2 285 9928, E-mail: samar_kassim@usa.net
Abstract: The role of transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) and nitric oxide
(NO) in ovarian neoplasia is still not clear. We studied the
expression of TGF-b by enzyme immunoassay, and nitrates (as a stable end
product of NO) in 127 ovarian tissues (36 normal, 37 benign, and 54
malignant). Ploidy status and synthetic phase fraction (SPF) were
also assessed by flow cytometry. Mean ranks of TGF-â, nitrate,
and SPF were significant among different groups (X2 = 12.01,
P = 0.0025, X2 = 67.42, P = 0.000,
X2 = 9.06, P = 0.011 respectively). Nitrate mean
ranks were significant among different FIGO stages of the disease
(X2 = 17.6, P = 0.000). A significant
correlation was shown between TGF-â, and nitrate levels in all tissues
(r = 0.24, P = 0.01), as well as in malignant tissues
(r = 0.3, P = 0.026). Cutoff values were
determined for both TGF-â (290 pg/mg protein), and nitrates (310 nmole/mg
non protein nitrogenous substances). At these cut-offs, nitrates
showed a sensitivity of 93% and 84% specificity for malignant versus normal
cases, while TGF-â had 76% sensitivity, and 82.4% specificity for poor
versus good outcome. Patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were
followed up for a total of 40 months. Survival analysis showed that
patients with TGF-â above the cut-off had worse prognosis
(X2 = 12.69, P = 0.004). The present results
suggest that malignant transformation of ovarian tissues is associated with
increased TGF-b and NO production. NO level is related to the development and
progression of epithelial ovarian cancer, while high levels of TGF-b could be
of prognostic significance.
Keywords: TGF-ß, NO, nitrates, synthetic phase fraction, ovarian cancer
