Chemokine expression in patients with ovarian cancer or benign ovarian tumors

Marek Nowak; Łukasz Janas; Malwina Soja; Ewa Głowacka; Krzysztof Szyłło; Marcin Misiek; Magdalena Klink

doi:10.5114/aoms/110672

Chemokine expression in patients with ovarian cancer or benign ovarian tumors

Arch Med Sci. 2021 Mar 21;18(3):682-689. doi: 10.5114/aoms/110672. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Marek Nowak¹, Łukasz Janas¹, Malwina Soja¹, Ewa Głowacka², Krzysztof Szyłło¹, Marcin Misiek³, Magdalena Klink⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Operative Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland.
² Laboratory Diagnostics Centre, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland.
³ Department of Gynecology, Holy Cross Cancer Centre, Kielce, Poland.
⁴ Institute of Medical Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lodz, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Chemokines play a crucial role in tumor growth and progression according to proangiogenic and immunosuppressive action. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of selected chemokines in patients with ovarian cancer or benign ovarian tumors to assess their role in tumorigenesis and their potential use in preoperative diagnosis of an adnexal mass.

Material and methods: The study group consisted of 59 women with ovarian cancer: 17 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients and 42 women with benign ovarian tumors. We measured in sera obtained preoperatively the level of CA125 and a panel of 5 chemokines - CX3CL1/fractalkine, CXCL1/GRO-α, CXCL12/SDF-1, CCL20/MIP-3α and IL-17F - using the chemiluminescence method with multiplexed bead based immunoassay.

Results: CX3CL1 was significantly elevated in sera of advanced ovarian cancer patients compared to women with benign ovarian tumors. The significant elevation of CXCL1 was also observed (both early and advanced stages). A similar pattern was present with the standard ovarian cancer marker CA125. In our patients with endometriotic cysts CA125 levels were significantly higher than in women with other benign tumors, whereas all analyzed chemokines had similar serum titers in patients with endometriotic vs. other benign ovarian cysts.

Conclusions: CX3CL1 and CXCL1 are elevated in sera of EOC patients, which indicates their role in cancer development. Moreover, they might be useful in preoperative differential diagnosis of ovarian tumors, especially as they were not elevated in cases of endometriosis.

Keywords: CX3CL1; CXCL1; endometriosis; ovarian cancer.