title: Increased circulating hepatocyte growth factor (HGF): a marker of epithelial ovarian cancer and an indicator of poor prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been described to be increased in different cancers. In the present study we wanted to investigate whether HGF in serum can distinguish between benign and malignant ovarian tumors, and whether serum HGF levels can predict the outcome in patients with ovarian carcinomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 123 consecutive patients appointed for laparotomy due to a pelvic mass. Preoperative levels of serum cancer antigen 125 (CA 125), HGF and HGF activator (HGFA) were quantified with immunological methods. We performed immunohistochemical analyses of HGFα, HGFβ and the receptor c-Met. Five-year survival of patients with advanced disease (stage III and stage IV) was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty patients had ovarian carcinomas, 23 borderline tumors, and 40 benign ovarian tumors. Patients with ovarian carcinomas had significantly higher preoperative HGF and CA 125 serum levels than patients with benign ovarian tumors, and borderline tumors. Patients with borderline tumors had significantly higher CA 125 values than benign cases. A combination of CA 125 and HGF increased the specificity in predicting carcinoma. We observed abundant HGFα, HGFβ and c-Met expressions in all ovarian tumors. Patients with advanced disease and preoperative serum HGF values ≥2SD above reference value had a shorter disease-free survival than patients with advanced disease and serum HGF <2SD above reference value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HGF in serum is an indicator of ovarian carcinoma in women with a pelvic mass, and of a poor prognosis in advanced ovarian cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. guro.aune@ntnu.no
authors.forename: Guro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aune
authors.forename: Aina-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Solveig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tingulstad
authors.forename: Sverre H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Torp
authors.forename: Siri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forsmo
authors.forename: Janne Elin
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Reseland
authors.forename: Astrid Kamilla
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Stunes
authors.forename: Unni
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Syversen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor