Diagnostic Significance of Selected Serum Inflammatory Markers in Women with Advanced Endometriosis

Izabela Kokot, Agnieszka Piwowar, Marcin Jędryka, Katarzyna Sołkiewicz, Ewa Maria Kratz
International journal of molecular sciences · 2021 · vol. 22(5) , pp. 2295 · doi:10.3390/ijms22052295 · PMID:33669013 · PMC7956504 · W3132403037
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 36 in-corpus citations
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Serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, hs-CRP, YKL-40, and PRL were significantly higher in women with endometriosis compared to controls, with IL-6, PRL, and CA 125 showing potential for identifying advanced disease.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease, the pathogenesis of which seems to be directly associated with inflammatory processes. Serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, hs-CRP, IgG, YKL 40 and PRL, in comparison to the well-known CA 125 levels, were studied with the aim of identifying an additional noninvasive inflammatory marker or set of markers characteristic for endometriosis. The study group included 43 women with endometriosis (E), 35 women with benign gynecological disorders but without endometriosis (NE, non-endometriosis) as a comparative group, and a control group consisting of 18 healthy subjects (C). The serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, hs-CRP, YKL-40, PRL and CA 125 were significantly higher in the E group (median values: 0.41 pg/mL, 2.42 pg/mL, 2.33 mg/L, 79.30 ng/mL, 21.88 ng/mL and 68.00 U/mL, respectively) than in the control group (median values: 0.21 pg/mL, 0.98 pg/mL, 0.52 mg/L, 49.77 ng/mL, 12.08 ng/mL and 12.20 U/mL respectively), with the significance of p = 0.011, p < 0.001, p = 0.028, p = 0.005, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively. The IgG concentrations were significantly lower in the endometriosis group (median value: 1061.21 mg/dL) as compared to healthy women (median value: 1210.50 mg/dL; p = 0.025). Significant differences in concentrations of IL-6 (p = 0.040), hs-CRP (p = 0.007) and CA 125 (p < 0.001) were observed in stage III vs. stage IV of endometriosis. Significantly higher concentrations of IL-6 (p = 0.010), hs-CRP (p = 0.037) and PRL (p < 0.001) were observed in the NE group vs. the control group. Only CA 125 concentrations were significantly higher in endometriosis patients as compared to the non-endometriosis group (p < 0.001). The proposed panel of inflammatory markers, especially IL-6, PRL and CA 125, may become a useful tool to identify women with advanced endometriosis who could qualify for treatment.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Adult Biomarkers Biomarkers CA-125 Antigen CA-125 Antigen Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1 Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1 Cluster Analysis C-Reactive Protein C-Reactive Protein Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Inflammation Inflammation Interleukin-1beta Interleukin-1beta

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