Objective: This study aims to investigate the clinical significance of serum Smac, HE4 and CA125 alone or combined for detecting endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC).
Methods: The level of serum Smac, HE4 and CA125 in 40 healthy controls, 40 cases of benign endometriosis ovarian tumor, and 60 cases of EAOC were detected by ELISA and electrochemical immune method.
Results: Serum Smac expression level was significantly lower in the EAOC group than in the control group and benign ovarian tumor group (P< 0.05), while HE4 and CA125 expression levels were significantly higher in the EAOC group than the other two groups. The sensitivity of Smac single detection was up to 91.67%, and the specificity of HE4 was up to 98.75%. Furthermore, the sensitivity of Smac + HE4 + CA125 combined was the highest, which reached up to 98.33%; but the specificity was low, which reached up to 75%. The serum expression level differences before and after surgery were statistically significant. As the number of chemotherapies increases, the Smac level increased, and HE4 and CA125 levels gradually decreased. Furthermore, Smac increased to normal at the end of the 2nd period of chemotherapy, while HE4 and CA125 decreased to normal in 2nd and 3rd period of chemotherapy, respectively.
Conclusion: Serum Smac, HE4 and CA125 may play an important role in predicting EAOC and in monitoring the prognosis of postoperative EAOC.
Keywords: CA125; HE4; Smac; chemotherapy; endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer.