Significance of initial plasma steroid concentrations in the prognosis of 'nonendocrine' malignant ovarian tumors.
The prognostic value of progesterone (P), androstenedione (A), Estradiol, Testosterone, 20 alpha-hydroxy-progesterone, sex hormone binding globulin, and albumin (Alb) was investigated in 51 women with ovarian carcinoma. All patients had observation periods greater than 5 years. The plasma concentrations of P, A, and Alb and the P/Alb and A/Alb ratios showed a significant correlation with the observation time of the patients. P, P/Alb, Alb, and A/Alb separately or in combination showed the highest prognostic specificity and sensitivity. The patients with a plasma concentration above an optimal limit or above mean + 2 SD of a control group of 20 postmenopausal women were grouped together. The groups with P/Alb, A, A/Alb, and Alb above the limit showed an equal survival rate as patients in FIGO stage IV. Patients with a high A/Alb ratio and a high testosterone concentration showed an even poorer prognosis than FIGO stage IV patients. Among the patients in stage IV the A/Alb ratio and sex hormone binding globulin gave additional prognostic information on the stage. The steroid concentration is not only related to tumor volume, as shown earlier, but also reflects the prognosis of the disease.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Umeå, Sweden.
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Mählck
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Bäckström
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Kjellgren
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011379:Prognosis; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
D006728:Hormones; D012709:Serum Albumin; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol