Plasma urocortin-1 as a preoperative marker of endometriosis in symptomatic women

Maia LM, Laura M. Maia, Ana L Rocha, Ana Luiza Lunardi Rocha, Helen L. Del Puerto, Felice Petraglia, Petraglia F, Fernando M. Reis
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2017 · vol. 34(3) , pp. 202–205 · doi:10.1080/09513590.2017.1380188 · PMID:28925754 · W2754753507
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This study found that higher plasma urocortin-1 levels were associated with the presence of endometriosis in symptomatic women, with a cutoff of 46 pg/mL showing 76% sensitivity and 88% specificity for detection.

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Abstract

Accurate noninvasive diagnostic tests for endometriosis are still missing. This study evaluated the predictive value of the neuropeptide urocortin 1 (Ucn1) to detect pelvic endometriosis in symptomatic women. We enrolled prospectively 97 consecutive women submitted to gynecologic laparoscopy for chronic or acute pelvic pain, infertility or adnexal mass. Preoperative blood samples were assayed for Ucn1 using enzyme immunoassay. Patients with endometriosis had higher plasma Ucn1 levels compared to patients with no lesions (median 59 vs. 34 pg/ml, p < .01, Dunn's test). Elevated plasma Ucn1 levels were found among all endometriosis phenotypes (superficial peritoneal lesions, ovarian endometrioma, and deep infiltrating endometriosis, p 46 pg/mL as the best cutoff point to detect endometriosis vs. no lesions, with 76% sensitivity and 88% specificity (area under the curve [AUC] 0.827, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.695 - 0.959), but no cutoff could accurately distinguish endometriosis from other pathological conditions (AUC 0.593 [95% CI 0.474 - 0.711]). In women with chronic pelvic pain, infertility, or both symptoms, the probability of endometriosis (positive predictive value) increased consistently with the increase of plasma Ucn1 levels. The present findings suggest that high plasma Ucn1 levels increase the likelihood of endometriosis in symptomatic women.

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Condition tags

endometriosisdie_deep_infiltratingendometriomachronic_pelvic_paininfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Ovarian Diseases Peritoneal Diseases Urocortins Adult Biomarkers Biomarkers Cross-Sectional Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Middle Aged Ovarian Diseases Ovarian Diseases Peritoneal Diseases Peritoneal Diseases Prospective Studies Urocortins

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (24)

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