title: Clinical significance of serum DKK-1 in patients with gynecological cancer.
abstract: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is a secreted protein involved in embryonic development. Dickkopf-1 is also implicated in osteoporosis, arthritis, and cancer and represents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of these diseases. Because DKK-1 encodes a secreted protein, we investigated whether the DKK-1 protein is secreted into the sera of patients with gynecological cancer. The levels of DKK-1 protein were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the sera of 104 patients with gynecological cancer including 36 with ovarian, 40 with cervical, and 28 with endometrial cancers. The serum levels of DKK-1 protein were higher in patients with cervical (314.13 [385.02] pg/mL, P = 0.000) and endometrial (46.95 [21.62] pg/mL, P = 0.000) cancers than in healthy individuals (29.45 [11.86] pg/mL). The serum levels of DKK-1 protein were associated with clinical stage in all patients with gynecological cancer. In patients with cervical cancer, the serum levels of DKK-1 protein were also associated with histological type and lymphatic metastasis. Dickkopf-1 protein detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a molecular marker can contribute to the detection and the diagnosis of cervical and endometrial cancers, especially for cervical squamous cell cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. jiangt@sj-hospital.org
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Shizhuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shulan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D003536:Cystadenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C501126:DKK1 protein, human; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins