Serum HE4 Levels differentiating Malignant Ovarian Mass from ovarian endometriomas

Objective:Human epididymal secretory protein E4,also called WAP four-disulphide core domain protein 2,is a new potential biomarker for detection of ovarian cancer,while its specificity toward ovarian endometriotic cysts until now is not clear.Methods:Our research analyzed serum HE4levels and CA125in serum samples of women who were diagnosed with various subtypes of ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer in healthy controls.Results:Compared with healthy controls(39.5pM),the HE4mean serum levels was significantly high among patients with both ovarian cancer(1135.1pM,P0.01)and endometrial(98.3pM,P 0.01),but the level in ovarian endometriomas(47.0pM)or other subtypes of endometriosis(46.2pM)ws not high.The serums CA125were elevated among patients with advanced endometriosis,ovarian cancer,ovarian endometriomas,or with peritoneal or deep lesions,but not among those with endometrial cancer.The microarray results showed that the mRNA expression of the genes encoding HE4and CA125reflected the serum protein concentrations.Conclusion:Taken together,measuring both HE4and CA125serum concentrations could increases the accuracy of ovarian cancer diagnosis and provide valuable information to discriminate ovarian tumours from ovarian endometriotic cysts.