10 research outputs found
Serum amyloid A (SAA): a novel biomarker for uterine serous papillary cancer
BACKGROUND: Uterine serous papillary carcinoma (USPC) is a biologically aggressive variant of endometrial cancer. We investigated
the expression of Serum Amyloid A (SAA) and evaluated its potential as a serum biomarker in USPC patients.
METHODS: SAA gene and protein expression levels were evaluated in USPC and normal endometrial tissues (NEC) by real-time PCR,
immunohistochemistry (IHC), flow cytometry and by a sensitive bead-based immunoassay. SAA concentration in 123 serum samples
from 51 healthy women, 42 women with benign diseases, and 30 USPC patients were also studied.
RESULTS: SAA gene expression levels were significantly higher in USPC when compared with NEC (mean copy number by
RT\u2013PCR\ubc162 vs 2.21; P\ubc0.0002). IHC revealed diffuse cytoplasmic SAA protein staining in USPC tissues. High intracellular levels
of SAA were identified in primary USPC cell lines evaluated by flow cytometry and SAA was found to be actively secreted in vitro.
SAA concentrations (mgml 1) had a median (95% CIs) of 6.0 (4.0\u20138.9) in normal healthy females and 6.0 (4.2\u20138.1) in patients with
benign disease (P\ubc0.92). In contrast, SAA values in the serum of USPC patients had a median (95% CI) of 15.6 (9.2\u201356.2),
significantly higher than those in the healthy group (P\ubc0.0005) and benign group (P\ubc0.0006). Receiver operating characteristics
(ROC) analysis of serum SAA to classify advanced- and early-stage USPC yielded an area under the ROC curve of 0.837
(P\ubc0.0024).
CONCLUSION: SAA is not only a liver-secreted protein but is also a USPC cell product. SAA may represent a novel biomarker for
USPC to assist in staging patients preoperatively, and to monitor early-disease recurrence and response to therapy