Copeptin is associated with the severity of endometriosis.
OBJECTIVE
Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma in ectopic locations and may be associated with local and systemic inflammatory processes. Copeptin is elevated in acute and chronic inflammation conditions. The aim of the present study was to determine whether serum copeptin levels were altered in women with endometriosis and played a role in the pathophysiology of the disease.


METHODS
A total of 86 women were recruited for this case-control study. 50 patients with surgically proven endometriosis were included, while 36 patients without endometriosis comprised the control group. Patients were classified as having minimal, mild, moderate and severe disease in accordance with American Society of Reproductive Medicine revised classification. Two subgroups were formed by combining patients with minimal and mild disease and with moderate and severe disease (Stage 1-2, stage 3-4; respectively). Levels of copeptin, tumor markers (CA-125, CA-19-9, CA-15-3) and C-reactive protein in serum were measured.


RESULTS
Serum copeptin, CA-125, CA-15-3 and CA-19-9 levels were higher in the endometriosis group (p: 0.002; 0.001; 0.017; 0.015; respectively). Copeptin and CA-19-9 levels were significantly higher in stage 3-4 group as compared to stage 1-2 group (p: 0.004; 0.036 respectively). Serum copeptin levels were positively correlated with stage of the disease and size of endometriomas. ROC analysis revealed that CA-125 had the highest AUC for predicting endometriosis (0.938; 95 % confidence interval 0.882-0.993; p: 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum copeptin levels were significantly higher in patients with endometriosis as compared to healthy controls. Moreover, severity of the disease was correlated with serum copeptin levels.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
Abdullah
A
Tuten
Mine
M
Kucur
Metehan
M
Imamoglu
Baris
B
Kaya
Abdullah Serdar
AS
Acikgoz
Nevin
N
Yilmaz
Zeynep
Z
Ozturk
Mahmut
M
Oncul
D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018394:CA-125 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006020:Glycopeptides / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000097:blood; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018394:CA-125 Antigen; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen; D006020:Glycopeptides; D018396:Mucin-1; C048197:copeptins; D002097:C-Reactive Protein