title: Expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its inhibitor PAI-1 in benign, borderline, malignant primary and metastatic ovarian tumors.
abstract: Elevated levels of expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its inhibitor PAI-1 have shown to be related to poor prognosis in a variety of cancer types. In the present study, cytosolic levels of uPA and PAI-1 were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in cytosols prepared from 244 human ovarian tissues of different histological sub-types. Both uPA and PAI-1 were significantly associated with the malignant progression of ovarian tissues; the levels were increased going from normal tissue, via benign and borderline adenomas, to primary and metastatic adenocarcinomas. For the 90 patients (34 early-stage and 56 patients with advanced disease) from whom the primary adenocarcinoma tissues were examined, uPA and PAI-1 levels were evaluated for their association with clinicopathological parameters and with progression-free and overall survival. Neither uPA nor PAI-1 were significantly associated with the age of the patient, FIGO stage, tumor grade, tumor rest, the presence of ascites, or with progression-free or overall survival. On the other hand, age, FIGO stage/tumor rest and the presence of ascites, were significantly related to the length of both progression-free and overall survival in univariate analyses. Tumor grade was of prognostic significance in the analysis for progression-free survival, but not for overall survival. After adjustment for FIGO stage/tumor rest, only age retained its prognostic significance, in the analysis for progression-free survival and in that for overall survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Rotterdam Cancer Institute (Daniel den Hoed Kliniek) Academic Hospital, The Netherlands. BURG@onch.azr.nl
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: van der Burg
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Henzen-Logmans
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Berns
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: van Putten
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Klijn
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Foekens
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003537:Cystadenoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010960:Plasminogen Activators / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011379:Prognosis; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D010960:Plasminogen Activators; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator