title: Lysophosphatidic acid: an ovarian cancer marker.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) can serve as an ovarian cancer marker, we compared plasma LPA levels in ovarian cancer patients, in women with no ovarian pathology, and in women with benign ovarian tumors. We determined the optimal plasma LPA level cutoff value and correlated clinicopathological parameters with plasma LPA levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  Capillary electrophoresis with indirect ultraviolet detection was used to analyze the plasma LPA levels of 133 patients (60 patients with ovarian cancer, 43 women without ovarian pathologies and 30 patients with benign ovarian tumors) during a three-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with ovarian cancer had a significantly higher plasma LPA level (n=60, median (med) 16.99 micromnol/l, range 4.53-43.21 micromol/l) compared with controls with no ovarian pathology (n=43, med 2.92 micromol/l, range 0.94-22.93 micromnol/l) and patients with benign ovarian tumor (n=30, med 7.73 micromol/l, range 1.12-28.84 micromol/l) (p < 0.001). We found that plasma LPA levels were associated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and ovarian cancer histological type. Patients with endometrial ovarian cancer had significantly higher plasma LPA levels in comparison with other histological types of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The plasma LPA level can be a useful marker for ovarian cancer, particularly in the early stages of disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. sedlakiva@seznam.cz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sedláková
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vávrová
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tosner
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hanousek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D008246:Lysophospholipids; C032881:lysophosphatidic acid